Wrong Crowd
by writer with no words
Summary: The careers have been seen for decades as sadistic and blood-thirsty. But when fate changes and there are new District 4 tributes in the 74th Hunger Games, we learn that maybe the careers aren't so bad after all.
1. Oceans and volunteers

Wrong Crowd

**Author's Note: This is my first actual fan fiction, so please go a little easy on me! However I'm completely open to your constructive criticism, I just want to get better at writing. **

**If you're reading this for the first time (or coming back of course), I am beginning the slow task of going through this whole story and updating all the chapters so that they are to a good quality. I felt I improved my writing technique while doing this story, so I want to bring everything up to standard.**

**As with all Hunger Games fanfiction, the setting and most of the characters belong to Suzanne Collins, but I own the differences in the plotline. As you'll find out, some characters are not present (e.g. Katniss and Peeta), and some of them (e.g. Grey) I have made up belong to me.**

Chapter One: Oceans and Volunteers

Grey's POV

There's something decidedly special about going to the ocean and watching the sunrise. I can't explain the rush of calm I get when I see the waves and feel the salt spray on my face, it's almost as if my heartbeat manages to slow down to the gentle currents of the water. _In… and out…_ I couldn't imagine ever living in a district where the only water they see is the preservative-filled liquid coming out of pipes. When I walk along the beach in the morning, sometimes I ponder how other districts could possibly survive without the feeling, as if everything else fades into significance. But usually the thought disappears as soon as it arrives; the Capitol doesn't want you to think about the other districts, or what is on the other side of the border fence.

Communication between districts means comradery, and comradery between districts leads to rebellion. _Hunger Games. _

Reaping Day. The day when mothers hold their of-age children close as they run around doing errands, as if this period could make up for years of neglect as they did the same to the older siblings, the ones at risk at the time.

On a day like today, there isn't anywhere that I would rather be except on the beach. Everyone else is with their families or waiting by the Justice Centre, where there's a feeling of solemn pride in the air as we both mourn and celebrate the beginning of the Hunger Games for the year. The feeling always seems to get stuck in my clothes, staying with me for months.

I'm just about to finish my round of the coastline when I hear someone on the dock calling out to me, waving their arms as they begin to jog over to where I am standing.

"Grey, I've been looking all over for you! We have to go!" I raise my eyebrow lazily at my best friend Titus, the tall, well-built figure who is coming to a stop in front of me.

"I know, do you think I forgot that the reaping was this morning? I've had 16 years of experience going to this silly ceremony." I retort back, beginning to trudge through the sand towards the town centre with less gusto than what I had started with.

Titus runs up to me and yanks me by the shoulder, but I let my upper body swing, overbalancing him so I am able to break free from his hold.

"What's with you today? You know you can't say things like that here; this whole town is being constantly monitored! Don't you remember the punishments you can get for rebellious behaviour?"

"Of course I do," I reply with gritted teeth, my eyes looking directly forward and not making eye contact with Titus, "A warning, an arrest, torture, special entry into the Hunger Games. But guess what Titus; I'd be bringing pride to my district by being a tribute. That's your motto, isn't it?"

I hear Titus growl from behind me in anger, but he deserves it. Just because he's 18 and I'm a year younger, he's decided that I'm the one that needs protecting. I can't fight, I can't do anything; I'm just a little girl. Most days, his gentle nudge towards a moral decision is fine, but on reaping day, when I suddenly become 13 years old again, it irritates me to no end.

Titus has been my best friend since I was 7 years old. Built strong and tough even from the start, the black haired teenager had been an instant favourite in the eyes of the trainers. Not like me, the lanky teenage girl that only trained when she wasn't busy and really put no effort in whatsoever. Now here we are, Titus in his last year, a contender for tribute, and me, 17 years old and nearly of marrying age. What a pair we made.

Although District 4 is a career district, there are many levels of how prepared our children are for the games. As most of our tributes are some form of volunteer, whether directly at the reaping or an applied for place (quells are usually so popular that there has to be competitions within the district for volunteering rights), no one ever sees the unprepared tributes, they barely make it out of the crowd when their names are called out. Titus was at the top of the pyramid: strong, skilled, prepared. _I_ however was at the bottom with a small amount of weapons training and game theory, which I had done so I was at least a level above incompetence.

Neither of us make an attempt to start a conversation as we lose sight of the beach and come into the large clearing in front of the Justice Center, where most of the town is already getting assembled and workers are making final adjustments to the stage, but Titus pats me lightly on the back comfortingly as we move away from each other.

I drift towards the female sign in desk without thinking, knowing the routine perfectly after three years of repeating the process myself. Instead my eyes move over the cluster of people and land on the stage, where the two reaping pools are already standing proudly in the center, just waiting to change somebody's life forever. Their now very _short_ life forever.

My finger is pricked for identification before it even registers in my brain that I am standing at the front of the line, and I press the drop of blood onto the logging book before the woman at the counter can direct me. Walking away after hearing the "Thank you, and may the odds be ever in your favour" speech, I pass the next person in the line, a young girl that looks to be in her first year, and offer a smile. The younger children always look frightened; even though there are far too many safety nets in this district for them to be picked and not replaced. It was extraordinarily rare for no one at all to volunteer, but I remember clearly the year no one did. A boy had screamed as Peacekeepers picked him up and took him to the stage, pleading for somebody to volunteer and take his place. Maybe his screams put everyone else off, because the district had never been so quiet. The mayor had looked away with disinterest, pretending that he couldn't hear the sounds of a boy going to his death. The tribute had died in the bloodbath.

"Grey!" I hear someone calling my name and I turn just as my friends from class bowl into me. I recognise Terra first: she's wearing a dress that has a low cut much too inappropriate for the situation, but she looks so cheerful and innocent that I don't mention it. She helped me pick out my own dress, after all, a short blue strapless number with a black ribbon around the waist and a black piece of patterned lace covering the lower half.

I follow my friends into the section where we are expected to stand, and they lead me right to the edge of the roped off area. We end up standing in the corner between the male and female sections, and I peer over the other side where the young men getting ready to volunteer are standing at the front looking ready to burst from excitement and testosterone. I can't see Titus, but I know he's somewhere there, at the front so he can easily make his way up to the stage.

"Oh my Panem, I know!" Terra suddenly squeals beside me, jumping and pointing at a dark haired man standing close to us. His eyes flick towards our disturbance momentarily and he winks at us.

"What?" I ask, trying to get into the conversation. Today really wasn't turning out to be my day, I seemed to be annoying everyone.

"Spens," She whispers excitedly, "Isn't he just dreamy?" I poke my head out of the crowd again to look at said boy, who doesn't notice the attention this time.

This is his last year to volunteer, and I knew he was itching to go; I had overheard Spens and Titus arguing about it one day. I had absolutely no interest for Spens. He had a cruel smirk and a curved nose that looked like it had been broken one too many times. I had also seen him train a few times, I respected his skill but the power he possessed that drew the other girls in drove me away.

"Oh Grey, you're such a worry wort!" Terra chirps after she realises that I'm not going to reply.

"Sorry, I'm not really feeling myself today." I reply glumly, thinking back to Titus and wondering whether he'll be upset at me from before.

"I know," She says, wrapping one arm around me in a relatively comforting fashion, "But you aren't going to get picked; there are thousands of girls in District 4! And don't you worry, everything will turn out. You'll have one more year to get through of reaping and then you can get married! I'm sure you will be the first, you're obviously the prettiest."

I sigh, _wow I can get married_. If that was supposed to make me happy; it was a depressing attempt. The fact that Terra had once again mentioned my looks also bothered me. Couldn't she give it a rest for minute? Disgustingly obsessed with how everyone else looked, Terra constantly poured over my hair and appearance, crooning about how she wanted to look like me so the men of the district would take notice of her too. I only stood out because I looked different. District 4 was known for brown or black hair, and I was the odd one out with my blonde locks.

Before the cruel girls at my school knew that whatever they said wouldn't get to me, it had been normal to hear whispers of my mother sleeping around with Capitol men behind my father's back. I feel a hand being placed comfortingly on my shoulder and I turn my head and see Eunia, a girl I had only spoken to a couple of times giving me a kind smile. With my comical friends trying to woo soon-to-be tributes, and Titus actually celebrating this event, she seemed to be the only one that actually understood the seriousness of the event. Two teenagers would leave the district to fight to the death, and if we were lucky, _one_ would come back. I smile back at Eunia, and then I turn to face the stage when the Panem anthem begins and our district escort comes tottering out in her heels.

Our escort takes to the stage and babbles out a speech about being so proud that our district is going to be represented, blah blah blah. I suppose I was meant to listen and nod compassionately, but I stuck with just compassionately nodding instead. I'd heard this speech many times before, even as a toddler my parents would take me to watch the annual procession. I looked around now for my parents, but I knew that they weren't going to be in the crowd this year. After my father got a fancy job in the Capitol and moved there permanently, the family broke apart.

Getting offered a job in another district, especially a higher one, was unheard of and in my father's words it was, "too good an opportunity to miss." When he first announced the news to me I thought it was an amazing idea, we could all go to the Capitol and live as one happy family. Funny how life turns out. My mother became strangely distant in his absence, and she spent a lot of her time obsessively cleaning, leaving me to cook and look after myself in a house that felt like it was empty even if it wasn't.

"Grey? Dear, are you here?" Hang on. I'd missed the drawing of the girl tribute, so why were they calling my name? Oh. OH. _That's an interesting turn of events, no wonder I've been feeling weird all day._ I brush any remaining sand particles off my dress as the district falls into silence and I stand up straight as I make my way out of the crowd. I feel some friends try to grab me, and I even hear the beginning of an "I volunteer" but I turn and shut Terra up with my expression. She's even less prepared than I am, why let her waste her life?

My short walk to the stage feels like it is occurring underwater, everything the escort is saying sounds odd and far away. I speak my name and district into the microphone, knowing in the corner of my mind that soon the rest of Panem will be seeing a montage of all the tributes introducing themselves. I continue to stand stock still on the stage as the escort, _what was her name_, calls out the boy tribute. I catch Titus' gaze in the audience, and I shake my head at my friend with his mouth wide open in shock and horror. I know he wants to volunteer twice as much now, but my status as tribute ruins his plan. Only one person will come out of the 74th Hunger Games, and if I tried hard enough it might just be me, but I would never fight against Titus.

"I volunteer!" For a second I think that Titus had gone completely against my wishes and volunteered, but I realised that it is Spens who is making his way up the steps towards me. He has his signature sneer on his face when he makes eye contact with me, but it instantly turns into a bright flirtatious smile when he looks towards the camera.

"I'm Spens, District 4." He purrs, and I just know I hear Terra swoon. Well, if I died in the arena, she could have him. _Lucky her_.


	2. Journey to the Capitol

**Authors Note: Wow, thanks everyone for the good reviews and for putting this fic on your alert list! I was completely shocked when I saw all the emails in my inbox. That's why I wrote this next chapter so quickly. I'm sorry it's quite short, but it will get more interesting/long once they arrive at the Capitol. **

**Just letting everyone know, I'm not going to stick to the book for all my information while writing this, so things may not be exactly to the books. As **zebra-scarf** said, normally someone wouldn't move from one district to another, but it ties into a later chapter so that's why I put it in. But I appreciate all the reviews, thank you so much! Enjoy this chapter :)**

**Chapter Two**

Spens' POV 

I sat in that room guarded by Peacekeepers for an hour and not one person came. Not one. I tried to pretend that I didn't care that I had no friends because I spent all my time training. I tried to pretend that I didn't care my parents refused to visit me because they thought coming to see me would make me seem weak. I sat on the bench with my hands clenched in my lap for the entire hour as I gritted my teeth against the laughter and chatting coming from the room next to mine.

Grey her name was. There must have been at least half a dozen people in there at any one time, all moaning and crying and saying how she has to win for them, because they were going to have a "conjoined 18th birthday party, remember?" I decided then and there that there would be no alliance this year between the tributes of District 4; I wouldn't side with some popular chick. She could die in the bloodbath for all I care, I bet she couldn't even handle a knife.

Grey's POV 

My friends saying goodbye had made me late even with the Peacekeepers hurrying us along, and I barely made it onto the train before the doors shut. I wondered what would happen if I missed the train altogether, surely they wouldn't leave without one of the tributes? That seems to me like one of the more important things to remember.

I manage to navigate my way down the train carriages as doors open and close automatically for me. Some doors stay shut, and I suspect that they are private rooms belonging to our escort; I found out after the reaping that her name is Domitia, or our mentors. I go through at least three doors before I come into what must be used as a dining room. I am pleasantly surprised at the level of food spread out over the table, even a wealthy District 4 family would struggle to produce this much, and I wondered what the tributes from lower districts would think of it all.

I catch a glimpse of Spens reclining on a couch in the corner and I head over to him, taking a muffin off a nearby platter. I pass Domitia who is sitting at the table with a napkin perfectly positioned on her lap, and she stares daggers into my muffin until I quickly grab a napkin for myself. I grin sheepishly at her and she smiles.

"Are you going to sit down or what?" Spens hisses at me. I step back a little, shocked by his hostility, before staring him down and sitting beside him. It's silent for a couple of seconds and I strain to hear any sound giving away the fact that we're on a moving train, but apart from the clinking of a teacup against a plate there's nothing. I'm shaken back to where I am when I hear a door slide open, and Spens gives me a weird look as I try and refocus my thoughts. An old woman and young man, I can only assume they're our mentors Mags and Finnick, enter the carriage and stride towards us. Mags walks a lot slower than Finnick and I try to place what year she won the games.

"The careers are gunna love you, sweetheart." Finnick purrs at me. Ugh, he's as bad as Spens.

"Whatever. Who says I'm going to join the careers anyway?" I reply, taking a bite out of my muffin. I see Mags gesture to Spens that she wants to discuss the games privately with him, and Finnick takes the vacated spot next to me when they leave. He brings his knees up to his chest and for a second it's almost like I'm sitting with Titus. The thought comforts me.

"Do you know how hard it truly is in the arena? You need the career alliance to keep you alive, even if it's just for a few days." His green eyes flash at me with passion, and for a second I actually feel like he cares whether I live or die instead of just doing his job. With a glance at me to make sure I'm still following, he continues.

"I've seen the reapings from some of the other districts, and trust me," he says, gesturing at me, "you'll get their attention." I raise an eyebrow at him.

"A little derogatory don't you think?" I ask.

"Careers only want the strongest, fastest, smartest people in their alliance. They can't afford to have a tribute that will slow them down. If you can hold their attention, you're more likely to be let in. I'm just trying to give you options, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," I agree, "I just don't want to come across as someone that I'm not, and I'm not like _that_."

"Neither was I." Finnick replies, and he gets up and walks out of the carriage. I'm dismissed. I sneak a look at Domitia, wondering if I've offended him, but she gives me a shrug and tells me to go to my room and get some sleep, directing me to the third door on the left in the adjoining carriage.


	3. Prep

**Authors Note: Hopefully this chapter is better than the others now that we're in the Capitol and thanks for sticking by with my boring set-up chapters! Thanks for all the reviews; it makes me really proud. I'm hoping you'll all approve of how I'm portraying Cato, he will start to get more temperamental/Cato-like when training starts. I probably wont be updating every day from now on, I just wanted to get up to the Capitol chapters when she meets the Careers quite quickly, but it depends on how good this chapter goes to how when I'll update.**

**Chapter Three**

Grey's POV

It wasn't long before I was lying on a table getting my eyebrows done. I had disembarked from the train in the Capitol with Finnick guiding me by a hand on my waist; I was too busy waving and smiling to the multitude of overenthusiastic Capitol citizens to be concentrating. Spens had stayed a few meters behind me the whole time; a fact I figured was partly so he could bask in his own glory and probably also because he didn't seem like my Number 1 Fan. I was a little disappointed, I had hoped for a tribute partner that I could sit and talk about our friends and family back home with. I guess careers weren't supposed to be like that anyway, seeing as we came here to win. And I would win, because I had already promised myself that I was going back to District 4 when I finished up here.

My prep team had run at me with such vigour when I had finished navigating the crowds that I was tempted for a second to run and lock myself back in the train carriage! They were all babbling and talking so quickly that it took a few seconds of me looking bewildered before I started understanding what on earth they were saying.

"Oh my goodness, we got such a pretty one!" and "Look at those legs! I bet you swim all the time in your district, you lucky thing," were some of the many comments I was bombarded with on the trip through the Capitol.

Lying on my back as they plucked at my eyebrows, my gaze drifted to my left where the curtain separating me from the next tribute was slightly open. I couldn't see past his or her prep team for a few minutes, but when they moved I saw a sleeping tribute with such immaculate eyebrows that I knew that's what they must have been working on. Sleeping, he was sleeping! I couldn't believe it, but I knew when they started waxing his legs he wouldn't be looking like that. His hair was damply plastered on his head, dark blond, and he had a perfectly calm expression on his face. I admit he was very handsome, but he'd never hear it from me.

My prep team, oblivious to the fact that I was ogling the tribute next door, moves down to my legs. I hear a rustle from beside me and notice that the blond tribute is waking up. I see his eyelids flutter a couple of times, dazed, before he sits up on his elbow and raises his eyebrow at something at the end of his table. The change in him is instantaneous, one second he is tranquil and gentle looking, the next he has an arrogant and sarcastic air around him. He reminds me of a toned up Finnick and I realise that it's probably a male career thing. I secretly wonder if he'll kill me before I see his soft side again.

I must catch his attention because I feel his gaze run over me and I turn my head to stare him and his sky-blue eyes down. I see him chuckle at me quietly and he mouths, 'District?' with a questioning expression on his face. I am about to call out a reply when I remember my prep team is right beside me and that I'm probably not allowed to communicate with the other tributes yet. I hold up four fingers instead. I hear the ripping of a wax strip against skin and see him sit up like a blast of electricity has just gone up his body. He hisses a "Watch it!" to people standing out of view and flops back down facing me.

"District 2." He smirks, leaning on one arm in a provocative pose. He quickly sneaks a glance down to check if his prep team are watching, and then forms a C at me with his hand. I decide it must be a sign for the careers, but before I can reply, he winks at me and someone on his side shuts the gap in the curtain. Asking someone into your alliance while you're both getting your legs waxed? Classy.

Many wax strips and different outfits later, I'm finally released from the clutches of my prep team and stylist and I make my way alone in the elevator to where the chariots are awaiting the beginning of the tribute parade. I've yet to see Spens outfit but I'm told our outfits will compliment each other "perfectly." To be honest, I can't imagine anything relating to Spens complimenting me. Normally District 4's parade outfits revolve around fish, but I was sporting more of a water princess/siren outfit. My hair stylist had pulled most of my hair into an updo and had braided some fake seaweed and shells into it. Combined with a blue dress edged with lace that made it ripple like water, I looked startling.

I came off the elevator into a large warehouse. All the chariots were arranged in the half-circle patterns that they would form in front of President Snow after the parade. Most of the tributes were already mulling around their chariot or having touch ups done to their costume or makeup. I saw a couple of tributes look up at me but they quickly looked down again with frightened expressions. Most of the tributes didn't look like they wanted to be here at all, I on the other hand at least felt a little prepared after seeing many replays of the games. Only one pair of blue eyes stayed staring at me, and as I passed him the District 2 tribute raised his eyebrow at me. He had his chest dominantly pressed out wearing a stone grey gladiator outfit as someone in his prep team was adding blusher to his face. Very masculine. As I continued to stare him down, I suddenly collided with the District 1 chariot. Going bright red and trying to ignore the booming laughter, I turned to face the grinning tribute I'd run into.

"Cato, huh?" He grinned at me, eying the still laughing tribute, and when I didn't answer, "Cato's the guy over there, gladiator outfit. He's running the career alliance this year and since you've obviously got his attention you'll probably be seeing him a lot. Watch out for his temper though. If you see him about to blow, duck. Hey by the way, I'm Marvel." Marvel was tall with brown hair and except for his green eyes and paler skin, I probably would have placed him in a lower district. He didn't ooze the overconfident aura that Cato did, but I knew that it would be under the surface trained to come out when it was needed. Still embarrassed, I introduced myself quickly and hurried to board my own chariot, not daring to spare another look at Cato. Looking the other way at the elevator, I saw two girls come out together and head towards me. I didn't need to look twice to know they were careers, their posture gave it away. One was average height with blonde hair rather similar to mine, and the other was smaller with black hair, looking much more deadly. I saw her eyes flick to me for a second, and I had to fight the urge to look away from her glare. They joined Marvel and Cato on their chariots, and just before the first chariot left the warehouse, Spens silently slipped in beside me.


	4. Careers

**Authors Note: I can't stop thanking everyone for the reviews, especially the ones who have been reviewing since the first chapter. This is the first time I've used Cato's point of view, and I tried hard to get his personality right, so please let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Four**

Cato's POV

I had the Capitol eating out of my hand by the time our chariot stopped moving. This was way too easy. Clove on the other hand looked completely out of place standing next to me, but I knew as soon as she got a knife in her hand everyone would know not to mess with her. I snuck a glance down at my bare arm where there was a deep scar running from my wrist to the middle of my forearm, a reminder of the true damage Clove could do. My prep team had wanted to remove it but I had argued until they had agreed to leave it for old time's sake. I sniggered and it didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" My young tribute partner growled at me, tentatively waving to the crowd as they roared back even louder than before.

"Oh, just thinking about that time I let you overpower me for a second. You were so easy to restrain, I got bored."

"You mean when I beat you." Clove evilly smirked in reply.

"Whatever." I said out of the corner of my mouth, blowing a kiss to the Capitol crowd and catching a rose that was thrown back.

I left the chariot as soon as it came to a stop back in the warehouse. Clove looked like she wanted to say something to me, but I had something else I wanted to do first. I strode past the other chariots and saw the tributes on them step back or shy away. I grinned at their fear of me; I knew I was going to dominate this competition. But it was always good to have some fun first, right?

Ever since I'd seen her during prep she hadn't left my thoughts, and in her parade dress she was looking fine. It'd be nice to play with her before I had to kill her. She was standing on her own by her chariot, her tribute partner nowhere to be found. I felt kind of sorry for her for a second, it was a bit like watching a girl ditched on prom night, but then a smirk spread across my face and I decided to make it my duty to 'cheer her up' a bit. I silently came up behind her; she was oblivious to me.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when I wrapped one arm around her waist and placed my other hand possessively on her collarbone. Spinning around in fright, she ended up getting tangled in my arms, and when she figured that I wouldn't remove my hands from her body she stared up at me with a dark glare.

"Oh, it's only you. For a second I thought it would actually be a threat." She spat, and it put even me to shame. This attitude was hot.

"I wouldn't make that assumption so quickly." I replied, and for a second I saw her gaze falter as she looked up at me. She was quite tall, she would tower over the other female careers Clove and Glimmer; but I was muscled and I don't think she was used to having someone dominate her.

As she tried to come up with a snarky remark, I pulled her closer to me and put my cheek against hers. I could feel from her body language that she was trying to resist me but failing.

"So what do you think about my proposition?" I whispered in her ear. She pulled back from me and laughed in my face. I knew it was meant to be a cruel laugh, but she couldn't fool me.

"You mean the career alliance? Or the fact that you've thrown yourself at me? I know what you want," She smirked, "And obviously you have no manners, because you haven't even introduced yourself." I laughed out loud as she shrugged out of the last of my grip and folded her arms. I let her.

"Well that makes my job easier. Now I don't have to go through that whole speech about how amazing you are and how I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you. I'm Cato. And you are?" She shook her head in a dismissive gesture, covering the hurt in her face very well. There was a pause, and then quietly, "Grey. Now leave me alone."

I smirked at this Grey girl. Taking her chin in my hand I pressed my face close to hers and she didn't back down.

"Fine. But next time I wont be so easy to get rid of, because to be honest, I know you want me." I grinned and kissed her on the cheek. She whirled on her heel and stalked away, leaving behind a sweet fragrance and just a touch of glitter on my hands.

Grey's POV

Ugh. What a jerk Cato was. I wanted nothing at all to do with him, end of story.

But I did want him and we both knew it. I hated that he was so self-conceited but that was also what drew me to him. I had entered the elevator and basically collapsed against the door in a fit of teenage desire. Walking past him I hadn't realised how strong and toned he actually was, but in person he towered over me in muscle and I could imagine his strong arms holding me and protecting me. I-

"Grey?" Thank goodness it was Finnick calling me and not Spens. I would never hear the end of it if Spens had seen Cato wrapped around me, but luckily I could see his door was shut in a universal 'leave me alone' sign. I brought my attention back to Finnick who was standing in front of me with a sympathetic expression on his face. I must have looked somewhat ruffled, and thinking about it, so did he. I was quite naïve about how much effort our mentors really were putting in for us, planning our motives and how we would play this whole game while we paraded around like children. But right now I just wanted it to be about me, and I thought I deserved it, I was going into a death rally after all.

"Cato." I said simply, and he held out his arms to give me a hug.

"I remember being a career like that."

"But you turned out okay, right?" Finnick and I were sitting on the couch together; Domitia our escort had been out all day I was glad for the privacy. He laughed but it came out forced and didn't do anything to make me feel better.

"That's for you to decide I suppose. But I'd be careful with him because the other mentors were telling me he has an explosive temper." I felt hairs prick on the back of my neck, just thinking about being in the way of Cato in a rage made me squirm. He would snap my neck in a second of anger; I didn't doubt it at all. Finnick noticed my discomfort and his expression warped into something that sat between concern and unease.

I wrung my hands and pondered a reply.

"I know he's dangerous. But… I feel like he could be a helpful ally, maybe if we were in the arena together he'd protect me. At least for a while. It's like you said when we first met, I have to have options."

"Yeah, that sounds like something I would say." Finnick replied, running a hand through his short brown hair. We sat looking at our hands silently for a while, before he got up. He left me with a cryptic parting comment.

"The games are never just games anymore. My advice? Try and think of what someone close to you would do in your situation. When I was in the games that's the maxim I followed." Before I could ask who the person close to him was, he had disappeared.

Dinner passed quietly without a hitch. Only Domitia, Finnick and I were present, as Spens had requested to eat in his room. I heard Domitia mutter something about "manners" and "boys" before giving up and agreeing. After our talk Finnick had been unnaturally quiet and our escort stayed silent as well, knowing something important was going down. I thanked them for the meal, taking in Domitia's nod of approval, and locked myself in my room. I started thinking about what my friends would say if I told them my situation. What would Titus, my best friend say? _'Don't trust the tall skinny boy. Don't fall for the sword welding career.'_ Was I with the wrong crowd?


	5. Let's train

**Authors Note: Hi everyone, here's a new chapter. It's the longest so far! Keep reviewing, it would be so amazing if this story one day got to 50 reviews, I wasn't expecting any in the beginning! Also, I'm open to suggestions of what you think should happen in this story :) Enjoy this chapter**

**Chapter Five**

Grey's POV

The first hour of training was hectic. The tributes from district 1, 2 and 4, minus me, scattered around the training stations rushing to be first to try everything. Swords, spears, knives, hand-to-hand combat, climbing. I stood in the middle of the training center, a little bewildered by all the action. I'd had a few years of training through school, but that was a playground compared to this. When someone misfired an arrow that flew past me barely missing my shoulder, I jumped and stared down the culprit, a girl who I believed was Marvel's district partner. She giggled and waved at me, shouting, "Sorry!" I was speechless for a couple of seconds, before deciding to go and practice something myself.

I could see flashes of blond and black hair in the combat area: Cato and Spens. I would have liked to go and meet up with Cato, at least he could protect me from wayward arrows with his body mass, but I wasn't in a mood to deal with Spens. I'd already gone through breakfast with him constantly putting me down and I wasn't recovered enough to repeat that yet.

Marvel was hogging the spear station, intimidating a small boy by throwing hard and fast at the targets. But the brown haired tribute grinned at me when I approached him.

"Grey!" He said, "Want me to teach you how to throw a spear like a career?" I shrugged yes and went to stand beside him. I'd practiced with a spear often back in 4, but I wasn't amazing at it, I didn't have enough arm strength to get any speed or power. I was reasonable at aiming though, and Marvel seemed pleased.

"Well," He said after about half an hour of throwing spears, "You probably won't have enough force to kill anyone with a spear, but at least you'll hit them in the heart!" He laughed kindly, and I decided to move off to something else. Marvel said goodbye to me, and returned to his spears.

I ambled past various stations looking for something interesting that wouldn't be too heavy, because my arm had begun to ache from throwing the spears at full power with Marvel. I saw Cato's district partner at the knives, and decided to go to her. She was firing knives at moving targets and was absolutely amazing. She didn't miss once.

"You're amazing!" I blurted out, and then instantly regretted it; scared that I would have broken her concentration.

I waited a few minutes, staring at my training boots and hearing the sound of knife hitting wood rhythmically. For a moment I wondered what a knife hitting flesh sounded like, before the District 2 tribute turned around to grace me with her presence.

"Thank you," She replied coolly, breathing heavily from the exercise she'd just completed, "I'm Clove, district 2. Do you use knives?"

"My name's Grey, I'm district 4. Yes, I've _used_ knives. I thought I was reasonable with them, but after seeing you practice I need to be a little rational. I don't really have a special weapon..." My words faded to a stop, I wasn't sure what to tell her. Clove eyed me suspiciously for a moment, but curiosity won out and some of the hardness in her eyes disappeared.

"What do you mean you don't have a weapon?" She asked me. Clove was small with dark hair, braided tightly for the purpose I supposed of keeping it out of the way when she was throwing knives. She was younger than the other careers, Cato looked like he might have been on his last years in the reaping pool but Clove looked barely 15. I dared not ask; she was probably used to getting comments about her having less skill because of her age. Seeing as I had just witnessed her murder a good dozen moving dummies, I had no doubts about her ability, and any tips I could get from her would be welcome. She stood silently awaiting my reply, twisting the knife she was holding against her palm, dark eyes staring me down.

"It's not that I can't use one, I trained as a career too! I just-" Clove interrupted my reply with a sigh of exasperation, before throwing the knife she was holding into the targets. Bullseye.

"How'd you get in the games then?" She asked in a bored voice, her interest waning.

"I was reaped. I didn't let anybody volunteer for me; it's a waste of a life."

"How sweet… As compassionate as you are, Cato's not going to take you if you're as good to him as a plank of wood, _even if he is interested in you._" I ignored the last part of Clove's comment as she smirked at me before walking towards the targets to go and collect her knives. I had to hold back my panic, worried that some tribute would accidentally skewer her, but all the other tributes froze in place. She obviously ruled the knife area. She started throwing again and I felt like I'd been dismissed.

"Wait! I can do other things!" I saw Clove pause, but she didn't turn to face me. Feeling encouraged, I continued.

"I can start fires without matches, I can swim and fish. I'm not bad with spears, and I know eatable plants like the back of my hand! I always was an enormous swotter... But I want to learn how to throw knives, if you taught me a little I know I would be helpful in your alliance!"

"Prove it then, tribute." Abruptly stopping my rant, I stared at Clove in shock. She shrugged at me, and pointed over to the eatable plants training section. A teacher was showing one of the girls a nightlock berry but no one was at the testing desk. Clove followed as I headed towards it, and she stood beside me as I loaded up the test, her eyebrow raised.

A few minutes later I spun around with the 100% score on the big screen, quietly hoping a crowd had accumulated. The trainer spent a few seconds congratulating me, seeing as I was probably the only tribute who had attempted it all day. Clove nodded at me, and looked like she was pondering if I would be useful. I heard slow clapping, and Cato came into view.

"Not bad, Grey. Not bad." He smirked, "But I don't need a plant whisperer. Go on the gauntlet, and then maybe I'll consider you." He winked, which made me think I was already in his silly alliance, but I decided to humor him.

The gauntlet was a training station most of the time only used by the careers. It took up a quarter of the center so it was difficult to miss, but most tributes avoided it so they wouldn't be noticed and targeted. I had already seen the tributes from district 1 and 2 try it, but if Cato hadn't asked I wouldn't have bothered. It consisted of ascending platforms that you climbed in the quickest time possible, avoiding the trainers who swung padded clubs at you and attempted to dismount you from it. But I couldn't see any trainers now, only Cato, who was testing the weight of a blade, and a few other tributes gathering including Marvel, Clove and Spens. As I approached the ground below the course, Cato smirked at me and swung his blade.

"You jump and I'll try to get you." He laughed. I would have been petrified in any other situation, but Cato's eyes were teasing. He didn't laugh often, I could tell that by just looking at him and I knew he wouldn't hurt me now.

"At last she's going to get it handed to her by the careers." Spens' comment broke the laugh in Cato's throat, and I could almost hear the thoughts in his head, that he would be the one to personally kill Spens. I pondered whether it was because he was protecting me or just eliminating his strongest enemies. I put my bet on the second option. Cato gave Spens a livid look as their tempers clashed. It was deathly quiet as they stared each other down, until Spens growled that he was wasting his time and stalked off. I saw Clove and Marvel visibly relax, but I saw the tension remain in Cato's shoulders and I was hesitant to be anywhere near his blade. Cato looked at the blade in his hand with his eyes flaming ice before shaking his head and replacing his sword with a trainers club.

I jumped up onto the course and begin to leap up the platforms. Cato swung lightly at first and I could easily avoid him, picking up speed as I hit half way. It was on one of the higher levels that he began to put more power into his swings and it became harder to avoid them. When I was nearly at the top level, I heard Cato grunt with fatigue as he struck particularly hard and fast, and he hit me square in the ribs. I shrieked and landed hard on the corner of the platform, but I managed to grab the edge of it so I didn't fall to the ground. Marvel ran over to help me off with Clove not far behind, and as they asked if I was okay I craned my neck to find Cato, but he had disappeared.

Cato's POV

I was livid. Spens had no right to treat people like that, for no good reason! I would never be able to say that I wasn't violent, that I couldn't hurt and kill heartlessly, but Spens was a different kind of sadistic. I wanted him dead before the games even began. I stalked towards the other end of the training center, where I could see Spens standing around, watching another tribute sword fighting. I approached him and grabbed him by the neck, throwing him to my right. He landed on his feet and turned to me, growling.

"Look who's come crawling back?" I heard him say, but the familiar roaring in my ears muffled his words somewhat. The haze of anger I was feeling rose up to my head and caused a familiar throbbing. I leapt onto him and punched him in the face.

I barely felt anything, just flesh underneath my fists and blood. Then a flashing pain hit me as Spens retaliated at my nose, and I felt blood drip onto the floor.

"Why would you even bother protecting _her_." He spat at me. I jumped at him again, and we rolled around the floor until we were restraining each other. Spens had my arm ready to break it, and I had his neck in a lock.

"Don't you f-ing touch her." I growl back. I saw him smile wickedly.

"What, you've fallen for her?" I could have killed him then, except for the Peacekeepers that decided at that moment to pull us apart. Someone grabbed me by the collar and yanked me off Spens, and dragged me out of the training center and into the elevator. I noticed Spens kicking and screaming, but by the time I got to the elevator I was standing on my own and already the red haze had begun to recede.


	6. Gentle Cato

**Author's Note: Over 30 reviews! Thanks for all the reviews everyone. ****I'm hoping to get to 45 reviews ** with this chapter, so please review! :D  
Here's some fluff for the people that are into it. We're nearly up to the arena chapters! 

**Chapter Six**

Grey's POV

The remainder of the training session continued as if nothing had happened, that the Peacekeepers hadn't just had to pull two of their strongest tributes off each other. Marvel and Clove, who seemed to warm to me after seeing that Marvel and Cato trusted me, asked if I wanted to go to the medical floor. My side hurt like hell, and I suspected that there could be a broken rib there somewhere, but I didn't mention it. When I said it was nothing, Clove imperceptibly nodded. I think she was used to being back in her district where you didn't show pain to others, and she respected me for it.

It was quiet without Cato there, but the other careers continued to train and act arrogant in his absence. My fall off the gauntlet had been a turning point, because now I was welcome in the career group. I was introduced to Glimmer, Marvel's district partner, the girl who had nearly impaled me with her arrow. The blonde career took me over to the bow and arrow section and attempted to improve my ability with the weapon. Glimmer wasn't particularly proficient at it herself but I appreciated the gesture.

I ended up back with Clove at the knives, after she agreed to give me some advice. She looked pleased at what I already knew, and it only took a few pointers before I was hitting mostly on target. It was when we were quietly throwing together that I brought up Cato.

"Do you think he'll be okay, Clove? He wouldn't be dumb enough to attack the Peacekeepers right?" I asked, my aim faltering a bit from a lack of concentration. Clove raised her eyebrow at me and smirked, wondering if I was joking or not. Realising that I was completely serious, she rolled her eyes.

"Of course not, he's getting punished as it is. And anyway, once he has a blow out like that, he exhausts himself. He'll be as gentle as a kitten, at least while they've got him in custody."

- _Later that afternoon _-

I pressed the button labeled 2 and felt the elevator move down. A couple of seconds later, there was a "ping" and the doors slid open. I hesitantly walked in, uncomfortable that I might be intruding. There was no written rule that you couldn't visit another tribute, but it wasn't looked kindly upon either. Not having a door to knock on, I felt like I was breaking in. Clove came out of an adjoining room and smiled sneakily when she saw me, not looking surprised at all. She had taken her hair out of the braid and it was loose down her back. She looked so different to the fierce, 'don't mess with me' tribute that I'd seen in training.

"Hey Clove. Your hair is out… it looks really nice." I said sheepishly. Clove laughed at me, but it wasn't a cruel laugh.

"We're not at a sleepover, Grey." She replied, still smirking.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah. Uh, I'm looking for Cato."

Cato was sitting on his bed, playing with some sort of shackle locked on his wrist. It looked like it was weighing his arm down. I stood in the doorway and surveyed his room, waiting for him to acknowledge me. It looked exactly the same as mine, backing up Domitia's comment that the highest districts don't get it any better than us, with the bed being one of the only pieces of furniture apart from a cupboard built into the wall and a chair opposite. The big window looking out over the Capitol had been turned into a view of the ocean, and I instantly recognize it as the beach in my district. Probably one of the only beaches known in a Panem district. I wondered why he chose it over a view from his own district.

"Come to pity me?" This wasn't exactly the 'kitten' I was expecting, but at least he didn't look violent. Cato was staring up at me with his piercing blue eyes, and I noticed that parts of his face, especially around his nose, were bruised purple. There was some unidentifiable cream pasted over the swollen skin and even with my mediocre knowledge of Capitol medication, I knew those bruises would soon be gone.

"No…" I said, thinking out my words before I said them, "I wanted to thank you." I saw him sit up a tiny bit and fold his arms, but I knew I'd said the right thing.

"Spens is a jerk, he completely deserved to get it handed to him," I continued, letting out a laugh, "You should have seen him come back to our floor, he had his tail between his legs!"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" I walked further into the room, not comfortable enough to sit on the bed with Cato.

"Nah. He's usually locked in his room. He says horrible things to me sometimes, but I've learned to block them out."

Cato's POV

Making room on the bed, I gesture for Grey to sit down. She eyes the chair before tentatively perching on the edge of the bed, watching me, and I figure that she's not used to being with guys. Normally I'd be thinking some disturbing thought about what I want to do with her, but my mind is hazy from fatigue after the incident at training and the shackle on my wrist is a heavy reminder of my punishment. I see her gaze move over it.

"Wha-?" She begins, but I interrupt.

"Tracking device. I'm not allowed to leave this floor until after training tomorrow. I got off easy." Her mouth forms an "Oh" shape, and then she goes quiet, staring at her hands. Her blonde hair falls across over her face as it contorts into a thoughtful expression. She seems to be concentrating awfully hard on her fingernails.

"This is your home, right?" I ask, gesturing to the ocean scene. She whips her head up so quickly that I think for a second she might have forgotten I was there.

"Yeah, it is. It's weird to see it here it in the Capitol because this was where I went on the morning of the reaping."

"Is it just you at home?" I ask, trying to keep any sarcasm out of my voice. It comes out sounding mean, but she just laughs sadly.

"It feels like it sometimes. My dad works somewhere here in the Capitol, and ever since he left my mom has been living like she has no purpose, she didn't even bother to come and say goodbye to me after the reaping. But I know you mean brothers and sisters, and no, I don't have them either." Grey pulled her knees up closer to her, and without thinking I put an arm around her shoulders. She silently moves into my lap and leans against my chest, and we sit wrapped in each other's arms.

"It's a bit like that in my family, no brothers and sisters." I say quietly. "I'm the child of fame-obsessed parents that only care about me winning this game. I spent my whole childhood training; I barely scraped through school. My reading, writing, maths skills are all appalling. It could barely even read the volunteer sign-up form." I go silent, sneering in anger, but Grey is holding my arms tightly. I don't think she realised that maybe careers weren't great at _everything_, but she's not letting it show.

"I figure that ever since I was born it's been planned for me; I either win this or die trying. There's no other option for me."

Grey's POV

I'm sitting in Cato's arms, and he's pouring his heart out to me. For a second I can't believe that it's the same person I saw beating up another tribute earlier that day. It's even more frightening seeing him like this than it was when he was violent. At least I felt like I knew him before, now I realise that I really don't know anything about this career.

"Maybe we're not that different, you and I." I say, looking up at him. He gives a ghost of a smirk.

"We're nothing like each other, Grey. But even if we were, I'm the one that's going to end up portrayed as the cold-blooded killer. It's just who I am." All of a sudden, I have the urge to kiss him. He's looking down at me, his chin pressed into my hair, with the glaze over his eyes that people get when they're thinking about something far away.

I reach behind me and put my hand on Cato's neck and pull him to me, tilting my head back so I can press my mouth to his. After his initial surprise I hear him growl and he falls back onto the bed, pulling me with him. He seems to know exactly what he's doing and even though I started it he's roughly taken over. It's not like I could protest, he's already got his tongue in my mouth, dominating that too. Gentle Cato is gone, replaced by the rough Cato, and in a way it's comforting that he's back to normal.

I feel him grab my legs as he turns us both over, pulling me under him. Cato's quite heavy and I wonder how long I'll last with his weight pressing down on me. He breaks away from my mouth and starts gently kissing down my jaw and neck, and in doing so shifts his weight slightly onto my sore rib. I can't hold back the sharp intake of breath caused by the pain, and he's up in an instant, apparently recognizing the difference between pain and pleasure.

"What's wrong?" He breathes, his eyes staring me down, probably trying to stare through the clothes I'm wearing too. I don't reply and instead shrug, trying to pull the same trick that I did with Clove. He's not impressed. Without even asking he pulls my shirt up and we both look down at the bruising. I had been avoiding looking at them, hoping they would just go away. There's one on my left side from where Cato's training stick hit me, purple and black. But the worst one is on the opposite side where I hit the edge of the gauntlet. He softly fingers that bruise and I wince, turning my head away.

"It's not broken, just badly bruised. It's going to be sore for a while. By the way, you're looking nice." He smirks, eying my exposed chest. I yank my shirt down and turn bright red.

"Aww, we can't go back to what we were doing before?" Cato winks at me. Part of me would like to, but I need to get back to my own floor. The others would be getting suspicious.

"You've kind of ruined the mood," I laugh, "Maybe another time if you're lucky."

"The odds are always in my favor." He grins, and manages to steal a kiss one last time before I leave his room.


	7. Won't admit it

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here's my longest chapter yet! And the next chapter begins their time in the arena! I hope you all enjoy reading it. Please review, I love reading all your reviews because it makes me so happy that people are enjoying something that I've written.**

**On another note, I am beginning to come to the end of this fanfic (I don't usually write extremely long stories, and especially since this is my first…), there will probably only be 4 or 5 chapters at the most to go. But I have had an idea for a 'sequel' story I guess, that would lead on from this one (either carrying on in this story or under a whole new name, I'm not sure yet) so if you would read and be interested in that, please review and tell me that too! **

**Chapter Seven**

Grey's POV

**Night before games: Interviews**

Cato's up there on the stage, looking arrogant and self conceited. It's so far away from the teenage boy I saw a few nights ago that it makes me nervous. After that night in his room we stopped talking alone together. I don't think he wanted anyone to know that for a second he had been weak. Clove suspected something was between us and gave a few sly looks from time to time, but Cato would always silence her about it.

But now here he was, talking it up with Caesar Flickerman like they were best friends and he had no care in the world. I had known that District 2 was close to the Capitol but squinting my eyes at them, Cato looked like he could be a Capitol citizen. I however, was going to stick out like a sore thumb. Cato and Caesar were chatting about how he was finding it here ("And don't say with a map!") and Caesar even looked like he was bouncing in his seat from excitement. But eventually the unavoidable question had to come up.

"So, Cato. A fine, strong tribute like you must have a million girls after you, am I right?" Cato smirks and without even seeing them I know that half the female species watching just swooned.

"You might be." His expression is overconfident, and he looks like he's relishing the attention. I can't see any doubt in his expression, but then again why would there be? He's trained so hard for these interviews; he can't be anything except the arrogant career that he's expected to be.

"Now I've been hearing some rumours…" Caesar says quietly, winking to the audience, "That you've been cosy with a girl from another district. Is there something between the two of you?"

Cato's laugh is booming and Caesar laughs with him, probably not sure what the chuckle is for but wanting to be in on it anyway. I couldn't help but like the interviewer with his blue hair and vivacious personality, but I wasn't so sure about the interviewee right now. I felt a sneer come up very slowly and I hoped there wouldn't be any sneaky camera hoping to catch my reaction.

"I'm here to win Caesar. My time with other tributes is purely for fun. I'm sure as a Capitol man you know how to have a good time, right?" I'm nearly sick from all the winking he's doing, and Caesar's just playing along like some puppy.

I stand in front of the screen backstage feeling numb, until I hear Spens cruelly laughing at me. I turn around to where he's standing behind me with his arms folded, a sneering smile on his face.

"Aww, your boyfriend's ditched you the night before the games?" And for once, Cato's not here to punch him. I wouldn't dare do it myself, not that I couldn't, but I would feel the wrath of everyone trying to help me when they saw his black eye live on the interview.

I look past him and see the tributes from Districts 5 to 12 all staring back at me. Some of them are trying to hide pitying looks and I realise that if I hadn't been in the career alliance, I might have made some real friends. Cato was officially _not_ a friend. All these teenagers that I was going to kill in the next few days, and I hadn't even bothered to learn their names. With Cato's voice blaring away in the background, I felt ashamed. Why was he better than any of these people?

I stood with my head bowed, looking over the dress that I was wearing. It was beautiful; my stylist had done a good job. It was a deep blue, strapless dress that came down to the middle of my thighs; cinched at the waist with a deep blue ribbon so dark it was nearly black. With a sigh I realised that if I had been standing next to Cato, my dress would have matched his silver suit jacket and his blue eyes. I felt a small hand on my waist, and I looked to see a young girl standing next to me. She was small with frizzy hair, and she was wearing what reminded me of a princess dress with round puffy sleeves. Without thinking I figured that her stylists would have been aiming for an innocent look because she barely looked old enough to be in the games, but I quickly shook the thought out of my head. I sounded just like a career, planning who was a threat. I was going to try and make a friend instead.

"Hello there." I said quietly, and the little girl jumped away from me, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"It's okay, I wont hurt you. My name is Grey." I murmured to her and she slipped closer to me.

"I'm Rue. I've seen you before in the training center, but you were always with him." Rue's gaze moves to the screen where Cato is just finishing up his interview and heading off the stage. Like the other tributes before him, he's going to head back to his floor and I may not even see him until we board the hovercraft to take us to the arena tomorrow.

"You looked nice and I wanted to talk to you, but he had his arm around you a lot and after seeing him get angry…" Rue continued. I couldn't remember Cato having his arm around me at all, but thinking back, he did seem awfully close a couple of times and it wouldn't have been difficult for him to place his hand possessively on my waist. He was quite a domineering person, and adding it to the fact that he was a strong career, no one would be dumb enough to mess with _his girl_. He'd shown that he _cared_ about me when he attacked Spens. And I was right in the middle of it.

"Sometimes he's gentle…" I say, thinking of when he poured his heart out to me. But I wasn't so sure anymore and it didn't persuade Rue, who wrapped her tiny arms around my waist. I hugged her back but my stomach felt sick. I wanted to protect her as much as I could, but I couldn't get the picture out of my head of my career _friends_ killing her.

"District 4?" A blank-faced backstage worker was standing in front of me, holding a clipboard. I nodded and he began to lead me towards the entranceway going to the stage. Rue stood back before she was trampled, and I looked behind me at her as I was pulled away. There were no words between us; no "I'll look after you" or "Alliance?" It was just a sweet innocent girl that didn't deserve to die, and some crummy career.

"I'm delighted to introduce Grey from District Four!" I stood up straight and pranced on stage, grinning and trying to look as happy as possible. I felt like a Barbie doll with the Capitol audience all screaming at me and it was a little overwhelming. But I didn't plan to be the first and only career that looked anxious. Caesar Flickerman stood up to kiss my hand and I held it out to him, even managing a curtsy that would make Domitia proud.

"It's wonderful to have you here, Grey." Caesar said to me very enthusiastically.

"It's amazing to be here, Caesar. I love the Capitol!" I answered in the same tone, and I saw the interviewer's smile broaden just a bit, knowing that he was going to have an easy interview. I imagine some tributes would give him nothing at all to work with and I felt like even he deserved someone who would banter along.

We continued chatting easily, and for a second I wondered if Cato was watching me right now. There were screens in nearly every room, even the elevator, and I knew they would all be playing the interview so it seemed likely that somewhere he would be watching. And even though Capitol Cato felt no pain about what he'd said about us, I wanted him to.

"Boy, the oceans in District 4 sound amazing, I do hope you get to return back there." Caesar says, gripping my hands in his, "I do have a final question for you, I think everyone here would all like to hear your opinion on Cato, the District 2 tribute." He used his hand to gesture to the audience, who played his game and cheered. Here it was, my opportunity to say something that would hurt him, or at least make him angry. I made a big show of laughing before I answered.

"Oh no, there's nothing at all between us! He's hardly my type! But do you want to hear a secret, Caesar? He's not the best kisser I've ever met." Caesar put his hand over an overly shocked mouth and turned to the audience who hooted. A buzzer signalled the end of my interview, and Caesar kissed both my cheeks.

"Do you think I'm a better kisser than Cato?" He asked cheekily, before I waved and walked off the side of the stage.

There was no one except a few Peacekeepers where I had come off the stage. I didn't want to wait the few minutes until Spens had finished his interview, and Rue was going to take even longer until she was done. I headed into the lift by myself instead and went to my own floor. It was silent when I entered, and I called out for Finnick and Domitia, wondering where they were.

"Finnick? Is that you?" I called out.

"Not quite." A familiar voice replied. Cato was sitting on my couch in his interview outfit, and he didn't look impressed. I snuck a look behind me, hoping that maybe Finnick would pop out and yell, "Surprise! Cato's not going to strangle you!" When I turned my head back around, he was standing right up against me. I hadn't even heard him get up!

"You embarrassed me!" We both said at the same time. The difference was that I shrieked it, and he growled it with narrowed eyes. This seemed to amuse him because he smirked.

"I'm not a good kisser? We both know you were lying." Cato teased. For a second I thought he'd forgiven me, but then he grabbed my wrists with one hand and maneuvered me back into a wall.

"However," He purred, "The Capitol doesn't know that. And so that little comment makes me a little angry." I struggled against his grip on my wrists, but he wouldn't budge.

"Well you're just perfect then, aren't you? Mr 'my time with other tributes is purely for fun.'" I spat at him. Cato pursed his lips slightly at my comment and he let my wrists go in defeat. I didn't run out of the room because I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Grey, you know I can't show that sort of emotion. I'm just trying to do this _for my district_." When he says 'for my district,' I mouth the words with him; just knowing that's what he's going to say. He sighs.

"Surely you understand, don't you?"

"No, I don't! I don't understand and I wish someone would explain why I've sided with some person that can't even show emotion instead of someone sweet like Rue!" I'm getting a bit angry now, and Cato can tell, but he doesn't try and stop me. He instead says something very quietly.

"I'm just trying to protect you."

I have to pester him before he continues.

"If I ever said that I even favoured you over another tribute, they'd use it against me. They would hurt you to get to me; I know they would. They might even be sadistic enough to kill all the other tributes so it's just the two of us that remain and make us fight. Argue as much as you like, but I can't let them find out about us and ruin it all." He's right, I do want to argue, but he's lost the sarcasm in his voice and for a second it actually sounds like he cares about me. Cato turns away and is about to leave when the elevator door opens and Finnick enters.

"Grey…" My mentor says softly, and just by that I know it's going to be bad news. Cato seems to feel it too and he moves towards me and uses his arm to pull me close.

"Ah, so the rumors are true." Finnick tries to smirk, but it looks like a sad smile instead.

"What rumors?" I can't help but ask. He gestures to Cato and I, wrapped in each other's arms. For a second I wonder why Finnick didn't know, but I remember that I never told him about the evening in Cato's room.

"This. You're being portrayed now as 'the lovers that won't admit it.'"

Cato's POV

"This. You're being portrayed now as 'the lovers that won't admit it.'" _No…_ Now the whole of Panem knows, the Capitol will never let us be. Grey tenses up and we simultaneously let go of each other. She turns to look at me but I have my gaze trained on her mentor. I know that wasn't the bad news.

"But that's not what I came to tell you. I heard that your father worked in the Capitol and I thought maybe he could come and visit you to say goodbye. I went to see him personally to try and persuade him, but he said that he was too busy working, and he said…" Finnick mutters something quietly under his breath.

"What? What did he say?" Grey shrieks, and I want to hold her close but I know this isn't the time.

"He said, 'maybe another time.'"

Everything goes hysterical after that. Grey screams and cries, shouting things about how there will be no other time because she's going to be dead within a week. Neither Finnick nor I try to answer because even we can't be sure that she'll win, especially since I'm trying to win myself. At some point Grey makes the transition between grief and anger, and when I catch a decorative vase that she throws I decide that she's gotten angry enough. I grab her as she's about to punch the wall and I wrap my arms around her, protecting Grey from herself. She doesn't bother struggling and instead sobs for a long time, only standing on her feet because I'm holding her up. Finnick approaches us and pats Grey's back comfortingly as I rock her in my arms.

Grey's POV

It takes me a long time to calm down even with Cato's arms around me. He never asks to leave, even when Domitia returns and Finnick bids us goodnight. I sit in his lap and he rocks me back and forth, not needing to do anything except be there.

"You can go back to your floor if you want, it's getting late…" I whisper, my voice cracked from sobbing. He shushes me and kisses the top of my head.

"I'll leave if you want me to." Cato replies, and I can see the ghost of a smirk playing on his face, knowing full well that I want him to stay. Seeing him not afraid, still able to be his career side, comforts me. As long as he's okay, I must be too.

Cato picks me up in his arms and in the dim light I can see his eyes are gentle. He won't hurt me, at least not tonight. We go into my room and he helps me into bed. I'm feeling numb. Every few minutes or so I'll remember my father deserting me, and then when I've recovered from that I remember Cato telling me that the Capitol will use everything we could have against us. It moves in a cycle, but when Cato has his arms around me the hurt in my heart subsides a tiny bit.

He looks unsure of what to do when he places me into my bed, but I pull the covers back and lean up to help him out of his suit jacket. A minute later I feel his warm body slip under the covers and he folds me up in his warm embrace. I can't help it and I start to cry, but Cato's calloused thumbs wipe the tears from my cheeks. He doesn't try to kiss me, he doesn't try to do anything. Except be there with me. It doesn't take long before his breathing slows down into sleep and I turn to look at him without waking him up. He looks calm and gentle and I experience déjà vu thinking back to when I first saw him that day during prep. It feels like so long ago. Cato murmurs something in his sleep and he rubs his head against my hair, which has draped on the pillow beside him.

_Don't befriend the girl with the knives. Don't let your guard down in front of the tall skinny boy._

_Don't trust the big sword-welding career. _

_Don't love the big sword-welding career._


	8. Countdown

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been a couple of days since the last update, this chapter has been quite hard to write. I needed to get into Cato's character but it's difficult to get into the head of someone who likes to kill and to figure out the reasons behind it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it; these games are going to be very action-packed, as you'll see in the next chapter. Remember, please review and tell me what you think! (P.S. Thanks so much to PeppermintAmortentia who reminded me that Cato has to be cocky, it seems obvious but I needed to think over his whole personality again!)**

**I'm interested in using Clove or Marvel's POV soon, so tell me what you think about that idea as well.**

**Also, I thought I'd let you all know that from now on updates are going to come less frequently, as school is starting up for the new term. I'll probably only be able to post new chapters on the weekends, but as always more reviews mean quicker updates.  
**

**Chapter Eight - Countdown**

Grey's POV

I suppose for a while you can just ignore it. Wake up and pretend you were born in the Capitol instead, that everyone's pouring over you because they want to. If you close your eyes and take in all the senses sometimes it even feels like a party. I know the other careers see me standing alone in the middle of the room with my eyes closed and wonder, but it's my way of trying to forget. I've heard that victors sometimes go mad after the games; haunted by the screams of the people they killed. Marvel told me about a girl from District 4 once, pushed over the edge after seeing her district partner decapitated in front of her. I wanted to see my partner, Spens, beheaded in front of me, but the thought of the psychologically damaged victor made me anxious and so Marvel never mentioned it again. I think it bothered me because I could see myself like that. I already had moments of panic that I remedied by closing my eyes, and I hadn't even killed anyone yet.

As much as you pretend, you can't be blind to reality forever. For me, the end was standing on the pedestal in the arena, knowing that five minutes from now I could be dead. Cato stood on my right, only a couple of meters away, and he caught my eye and gave me a look. It was the expression that you would see on a child's face right before they got on the biggest ride at a theme park, barely contained excitement mixed with the jumpy feeling caused by a bit of anxiety. Cato gave me the thumbs up, but it just seemed really inappropriate for the situation we were in. We had spent the night wrapped in each other's arms but upon waking in the morning he had already left. Every time I thought that maybe I'd broken through to his gentle side, he would flee or let out some thoughtless remark.

I calm myself a little by breathing deeply as someone safely locked in the control room far away from the arena counts our last minute down. **60, 59, 58…** I look around me at our surroundings. Behind me is a slope down to a large wheat field which I reckon I'll avoid, the wheat is tall and even from where I am I can see it rustling with movement. There's a lake to my left, which, if the careers rule the bloodbath, should hopefully become ours. I see Cato eying it and I know he's thinking the same. We have no idea if there's any other water in the arena, so we should make the most of it. The rest of the arena in sight is forest, and I figure most of the tributes that survive the bloodbath are going to head into it; it's covered and will offer temporary protection.

**30, 29, 28…** Not long to go now. I try to peer into the cornucopia standing strong in the center, but I'm facing it's back so I can't see the entrance from where I'm standing. I try and look for any weapons that I can grab and I lock onto a sheath of knives. I hope that it's not the only one because I don't want Clove, standing on the opposite side, to kill me under pressure for the possession of it.

Cato's POV

**15, 14, 13…** I'm ready. As soon as I could see the arena from my podium I was looking around, memorising everything around us in case it was needed later. And watching reruns of the previous Hunger Games, I knew that everything you learned could be beneficial to you. Turning to Grey, I saw her doing the same. Even if she was afraid, I knew she'd be able to hold her ground. I hadn't discussed any plan with the career alliance thus far; it was too hard to predict what you would face in the arena until you got there. For all we knew, the arena could have been plunged in pitch-black darkness, or so small that every tribute had to fight to the death in the bloodbath. I was so eager to get going, I could barely keep still on my podium. My eyes flicked around to each of the tributes in my alliance. Grey beside me couldn't hide her nervousness. Marvel was beyond her and had his arms crossed with a stony expression. The tributes next to him looked petrified and I knew he'd get them as soon as he nabbed a weapon. Clove was across from me on the other side of the cornucopia, clenching and unclenching her fists. She met my gaze and we both smirked at each other. Glimmer stood relaxed near my tribute partner, smiling knowingly.

**9, 8, 7…** No one is verbally counting down anymore, above the cornucopia the numbers silently decrease as the stakes get higher. I scan over the cornucopia and try to locate the best weapon. I curse that I'm facing the back of it, because obviously the finest weapons are going to be in the mouth of the structure. I notice a sword plunged in the ground beside the entrance and I decide to go for that. It will be sufficient at least for the bloodbath, and then I can pick something better if I need to.

**3, 2, 1…**

There's a long pause, too long, and for a second I feel like there's been a mistake. That someone's going to jump out and say it's all a ruse. 'Attention tributes, you've been punk'd!' Instead, a loud gong goes off and I'm running like I've been trained to do for the past ten years.

I feel other tributes sprinting around me as I jump over backpacks and other worthless objects. I know if we play these first few minutes right, we can have all this bounty for ourselves. Right now my sole focus is the blade. I reach the cornucopia before anyone else does and I pull the sword out of the soft ground, swinging it in a circular motion to stop any enemy who might have been on my tail. I make contact with the chest of a young boy; he had been on the pedestal beside me. There's a look of shock in his eyes before he goes down, but I'm already running to someone else by the time the cannon goes off.

I kill another two tributes, two girls that I never bothered to learn the names of. The first pleads for me to spare her life, but the second only tells me to make it quick. I smirk at them as adrenaline rushes through my blood and their two cannons go off. I hear someone running and I spin round and throw, nabbing a tribute that had been trying to escape with a backpack.

Retrieving the sword and finding no more tributes around me, I have time to survey the massacre. Marvel has managed to get his hands on a hatchet and I can see a few bodies scattered around him. Even from far away I can see the glassy look that he gets when he fights, he sees his victims purely as inanimate targets so he doesn't have to deal with his conscience. I don't need such petty actions; I have no conscience when it comes to fighting, but if that's what allows him to kill then I'm not going to bring it up. I can't see Glimmer from where I'm standing but Clove is nearby pulling one of her knives out of a tribute's head. She laughs at me when she sees me staring.

Suddenly I think of Grey, and my head whips around trying to find her. For a second I can't see her and I'm worried that she's one of the bodies littered around us, who was it I hit in the back again? But then I notice a flash of blonde hair and see her standing on the top of the cornucopia as she throws a knife at the last tribute left in the clearing. I feel proud knowing that this must have been her first kill, but then I see her fall onto her knees and cradle her head in her hands. I jog over to her, checking that no tribute is hiding anywhere, and help her off the roof of the building.

"Well done on the kill." I smirk, but there's a deep sense of pride running through it. Grey shocks me by giving me an appalled expression.

"I killed him." Grey says with a voice that almost doesn't believe it, "The look on his face when he saw my knife. He wanted me to spare his life but I didn't. Oh god Cato, I killed him!" And then she threw up on the ground beside my feet.

Grey's POV

I retch at Cato's feet and I can tell he's not quite sure what to do. Why doesn't he understand? The look in that tribute's eyes will haunt me forever. The fact that there's at least another 4 bodies littered around us covered in blood, doesn't help my stomach. I hear someone come up to us and I look up to see Marvel. His face is splattered with blood and I groan and hide my face in my hands.

"What's the matter Grey?" He asks, and I peek my head up, trying to not look at the red stains on his face.

"I've never killed someone before, Marvel. I can't help feeling I'm flawed now, stained." Marvel looks like he's going to give some sympathetic comment, but Cato interrupts him.

"It doesn't matter, Grey, he was an enemy."

I know he's probably trying to be nice and attempting to make me feel better about killing somebody, but that comment rubs me the wrong way. I'm up in an instant, my queasiness instantly forgotten. My face contorts into a sneer as I stare Cato down. He knows he's said something wrong, but he's got one eyebrow raised as if he's not quite sure what's upset me yet.

"Is that how you justify all your kills Cato? A monotone, "he was an enemy"?" I spit at him, my hands balling into fists. Marvel is standing dead still next to Cato, trying to sink into the ground and not be noticed. I feel a couple of people come up behind me, and seeing as Cato's gaze never falters from my face, it must be Clove and Glimmer. Great, everyone's going to see me blow up now, including all the citizens of the Capitol. There would have to be an enormous battle for the cameras not to be trained on us right now. Careers never argue this early, and especially not with Cato leading them.

"Why are you getting so defensive? It doesn't matter now." Cato's voice has lost any sarcasm, it's hard and rough and he grabs my wrists as I attempt to push him away. I look in his eyes and they seem to be repeating what he said: _it doesn't matter now._

"You don't understand, you're just a heartless bastard." I hiss at him, yanking my wrists out of his grasp. Cato growls and let's me go, seething. He doesn't bother replying and feeling unwanted after my comment, I decide to leave. I turn and start running; taking the time to grab a backpack from the stash Clove had collected. I hear the others calling me back, but I don't hear Cato so I run into the forest until I can't hear them anymore.

Cato's POV

"Cato!" Clove screeches at me, "What did you do that for? There was no reason for her to leave; now we only have an alliance of four! You're letting your emotions take over!" I slap her on the face and she shuts up fast.

"She'll be back." I hiss, " She'll spend a few hours on her own, trying to prove to us that she's all strong and can survive on her own. But she'll get lonely or hungry or something stupid and return."

Grey's comment had enraged me because it wasn't just me that she was offending; she was offending my entire district. I had been raised for the games in this way, to kill without a conscience, so anything she said about me reflected on District 2. She had no idea what I had gone through, and she had no right to say that her way of life was better than mine.

"Stop being nasty, Cato." Marvel pipes up, and I whip my head round to stare him down.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry… Let's go hunt for some tributes, okay? I'm sure it will do us the world of good to concentrate on something." He suggests, and after a moment I agree. We've been brought together to kill, so I guess it makes sense to start getting it done.

We decide to leave our supplies collected in the mouth of the cornucopia. For the moment all the other tributes will be hiding or trying to find water in preparation for a long night. They wont be prepared and some unlucky tribute will realise this when we corner them. Each of us takes a couple of weapons and a backpack in case we're held up for whatever reason. I have my sword locked on my back so I can easily access it and a dagger attached around my waist. The extra weight feels comfortable, like I'm in the training center again. The others around me visibly relax and I know they feel the same way. The bloodbath is about brute strength, skill, or having the ability to run very fast but there's no real tactics for it. However once you get through that it becomes more like a game of cops and robbers. The careers are the cops.


	9. Prey

**Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter, I've been thinking about school work for a few days so it took me a while to get this finished. I hope you like Clove's POV, I had to think about where I was going to come from in terms of her character. Please review and feel free to give suggestions to me, it improves my writing. Enjoy! **

**Chapter Nine – Prey**

Clove's POV

The four of us ran through the forest of the arena, Cato leading and Marvel pulling up the rear. If I were Marvel I might have been jealous having to step back and let the other male career be dominant, but he never complained. It gave me a certain respect for him and we had gotten along reasonably well back in the Capitol. But in the arena you couldn't have _friends_, you could only have alliances until those alliances were broken. The tributes that went the furthest looked out only for themselves.

Tree branches whipped my hands and face as we rushed through them. Cato kept a fast pace, as if he was impatient to win and live out the rest of his life in Victor Village like some sort of trophy. But _I_ lived for _now_, and I could feel a smile spreading across my face as we picked up speed.

My hand unconsciously slipped to my belt and found one of my knives. Training at least a few hours a week was compulsory in District 2, and in the beginning I remember being frightened at having to hold knives and spar with other children. But time after time my parents dragged me off, like it was some equivalent of swimming lessons. I hadn't even been allowed to do that, until I'd brought up the argument that it was possible the arena could be covered in water and I'd need the skill to win. Nowadays I get nervous whenever I'm _not_ holding a knife, funny how life turns out like that.

I had never been on good terms with my parents. Having an older sister and a younger brother meant I was usually forgotten in the mix and it made me put more effort than anyone else into training because I had no other support. I learnt to look out for myself and not rely on my family. If I won the 74th Hunger Games I wouldn't be doing it for my parents. No, if I won the games I'd be doing it for myself.

Training for the Hunger Games might be illegal in Panem, but to not take part was to be a delinquent in District 2. Not training was a direct offence "to your friends, family, _and your district._" Teenagers that didn't agree to train were labelled as rebels. The district hides them away in backstreets, uprooting their families so that when the Capitol visits they only see their favourite district with a passion for blood. They'll never be reaped on Reaping Day, oh no, there's too many volunteers for that to happen, but some days I imagine that they might pick them to make a show out of it. What happens to teenagers who won't train? _They die_. But I can't imagine the mayor of District 2 wanting to be embarrassed in front of all the other districts when our tributes die in the bloodbath.

"Pst! Clove!" A hand yanked my arm back causing me to nearly lose my balance, and I spun round to see Marvel standing behind me. I shook my arm out of his grasp but looked at him expectantly, knowing that he would be onto something. I felt Cato and Glimmer stop and walk back to us. Cato had brute force and skill but Marvel had highly tuned senses that not even the District 2 male could ignore. He could pick up the sound of someone running at least a minute before any of us could.

"What have you got, Marv?" Glimmer asked, passing me to get closer to her district partner. He furrowed his eyebrows and put his hand to his temple, his way of concentrating. Cato came up behind me and edgily crossed his arms, but was smart enough to respect Marvel. Ever since Grey had run off, Cato had been tense, even if he wouldn't admit it. I hoped we'd at least find _one_ other tribute, it would take his mind off Grey for at least a second and that would be good for him.

"There's someone running just east of us."

"Let's split up and surround them." Cato commanded, taking over the alliance once again.

I instantly started jogging east, hoping to come up behind the unknown tribute and catch them by surprise. Cato sprinted around me and headed to cut them off from the front, always the one to kill while looking them in the eye. My boots padded over the dirt-covered ground and the sound of my breathing breaking the silence of the arena was comforting. I didn't know where the other 3 were but we hunted like a well-oiled machine and I was fully confident that we wouldn't get in each other's way. After a couple of minutes I started hearing someone not far in front of me gasping from exhaustion and I slipped my hand into my vest to locate a knife. It was a tribute that I'd never talked to before, so I wouldn't have any bad feelings about killing them. It was a boy, quite tall and skinny like Marvel but obviously very under trained; he was acting like a rabbit caught in a trap.

He squealed and came to an abrupt halt when Cato stepped in front of him. I could see Cato's face from where I had come to a halt behind our prey and for a second there was a flash of evil in his eyes as his mouth spread into a grin.

"Hello there." He growled, weighing his sword in his hand. Cato never heard the tribute's reply, because I threw my knife and caught him in the back, sending him tumbling down like a ton of bricks. **BOOM.** _12 tributes left._

"Nice shot for a 15 year old." Cato laughed at me, not even caring that I took his kill. I laughed back at him, ignoring his taunt at my young age. His attention was somewhere other than Grey and he was almost his old sarcastic self again.

Grey's POV

It feels like it's been hours since I came into the arena but in reality the sun has barely moved. I always thought the other tributes would be my biggest problem, but instead it's the isolation that's begun to drive me crazy. Not knowing what time it is, being in an enormous arena with only a few other people, feeling so alone in that way. But also knowing that there's a camera around every corner waiting to see when you break down. No one ever tells you about that side of the games.

I couldn't help but miss the other careers. I had run off and found a gap in the forest where I could set up a mini camp but I didn't dare make a campfire; I couldn't afford to attract any attention from the remaining 12 tributes. I had heard the twelfth cannon not so long ago and had tried to come up with mental images of who would still be alive. But the stress of being alone in this arena made me nervous and I couldn't conjure up the faces of any other tributes except for Cato. I missed that blonde haired tribute more than I thought I would; it was beginning to get dark and cold and I wanted more than anything to have his arms around me. Not that I could ever tell him that though.

I dug into the backpack that I had grabbed from the career stash and pulled out my insulating blanket. I wouldn't admit it but I'd picked up possibly the emptiest bag ever, the only contents being the blanket, a bag of dried fruit and a rope. I had already eaten the fruit. A cold wind brushed against my neck and I shivered, pulling my knees up to my chest. Suddenly I heard footsteps around me and I tried to quickly stand up, ending up only tangling myself in the blanket even more.

"I finally found you. And now you get to pay for _his_ actions." A dark voice muttered, and then the world went black.

Cato's POV

I couldn't keep still! I wanted to be up and running around the arena like everyone else, not sitting in the cornucopia guarding some stupid backpacks. I didn't dare voice my opinion out loud though, my mentor Brutus would instantly be on my back screaming that I wasn't grateful of our supplies and there'd be no more sponsor parachutes for me. My foot was tapping hurriedly against the cornucopia as I cleaned all my swords and then began on Clove's knives. She'd kill me if she caught me doing it, but she was off searching the surrounding areas with Marvel and would probably appreciate having the blood cleaned off of her weapons anyway.

"Cato! Stop it, I'm trying to relax!" That was Glimmer shouting at me. I tried to physically restrain myself so I wouldn't tap, but I felt like bursting out of my skin. I didn't believe anything about a sixth sense but I couldn't ignore the feeling that maybe something bad had happened.

"Cato!" Clove came bursting from the trees and ran towards me. "Something's happened!" I instantly sat up; this was uncanny. I'd just been thinking about it, and now… Clove wasn't normally this panicked. Marvel came bounding out a few seconds later, panting.

"We ran all the way…" He said, gasping every few words to get his breath back. I wanted to scream at him to get it out but I knew rushing him now wouldn't help.

"We were searching around the forest for other tributes, and we saw the bag that Grey had run off with in the middle of a clearing." Marvel continued. I didn't reply; it was like the information was taking a few extra seconds to hit my brain.

"Cato…" It was Clove talking now, "There was blood everywhere. We think someone took her."

No…The realisation is like a punch in the gut; it's Spens. I swear Spens has Grey somewhere, torturing her because of me. I'm up grabbing my blade and shouldering a pack before Clove can even reach me in preparation for me to leave and find her. She places a delicate hand on my arm but I pull away.

"Don't do anything stupid and die, okay?" Clove whispers to me. It would have relaxed me if she'd added some sarcastic smirk, but the way she says it makes me feel like I'm going to my own funeral.

I run through the trees and try to find any sign of Grey or Spens, but it's like the Gamemaker has reset the trees so that no one would ever know another tribute had travelled through them. I already regretted not asking Marvel or Clove where they saw the backpack, but I'd find it eventually on my own. I could do perfectly fine by myself. It's the only way I knew how to survive. I hold back the urge to call out for Grey, I know that if Spens has her she won't be able to answer me and I'd just give away my location.

I burst out into a clearing and I have to spend a few minutes crouching to get my breath back and collect my thoughts. _Where are you Grey?_ I trace my finger in the dirt, and I stop at a patch of ground that looks darker than the rest. _Blood._ I look around quickly for any sign of a backpack, but either Spens has taken it or this is somewhere a different massacre took place.

"Didn't you hear that a criminal always returns to the scene of the crime?" A voice says behind me, and I barely have time to turn around before a knife comes flying past me and knicks my arm. Spens is standing a couple of meters away, smirking sadistically. He doesn't move to pick up the knife that he threw at me so I figure that he's got more weapons on his person.

"So you're admitting that you're a criminal now? Good for you, the first step is always recognizing your problem." I sneer. It's battle of the careers now, Cato vs Spens. It'd probably be all the Capitol was talking about right this second. Maybe they'd even make t-shirts.

Spens growled and leapt towards me, catching me off guard. I didn't have time to pull out my sword before he kicked my knees, which caused my legs fall out from under me. I pulled myself to a sitting position as he came after me and I yanked him down by his jacket. We rolled in the dirt fighting to restrain one another until I managed to get on his back and rub his face into the ground. I pulled his head back by his hair and he hissed at me, unable to get out from under me.

"If you kill me, how're you going to find your little girlfriend? I stabbed her and she's going to slowly die in agony. I hope you're happy, _Cato_." He spat my name like it was some swear word. I tried to stay concentrating but I couldn't get the image of Grey bleeding fatally somewhere and Spens used it to his advantage and shoved me away from him.

We both crouched on the ground facing each other, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. I had my hands flat on the ground and I was about to grab the small deadly knife that was strategically placed in my boot, when a scream pierced the silence.

"Cato! Ca-to!" _Grey, she was nearby!_ My thoughts went into hyper drive thinking about where she was and what I'd do when I found her, so much so that I didn't notice Spens pull out a knife and stab it through my hand.

I screamed in rage, clutching the wrist of my impaled hand. I tried to keep myself from panicking, I needed to kill Spens and then get to a first aid kit. I'm sure I had seen one in our stash somewhere. But the pain was excruciating and although I wasn't writhing on the ground yet, my head was spinning and even attempting to stand was too much to handle. Spens stood over me as I pulled at my hair trying to stop the pain, laughing. He had a knife and I knew it would all be over in a second. _I had failed everyone._

Suddenly there was the sound of an arrow flying and hitting flesh. I looked up to see Spens pulling an arrow out of his back, and the look of horror on Glimmer's face as he turned and began to stride towards her. With the knife still in my hand and blood pouring out the sides of the wound, I pushed myself up to a standing position, pulling my sword out of its sheath on my back. I made eye contact with Glimmer and she nodded at me before pushing into Spens' body. She screamed and for a split second I had no idea what had just happened, until the cannon burst into my hearing and I realised she'd pushed herself onto Spens' knife so he would be knocked over. She'd sacrificed herself so I could kill him. _But you were supposed to do everything on your own; you have no friends in the arena, right? _Using the last possible strength I had, the blood pouring out of me was taking my strength with it, I rose my sword in the air and plunged it into Spens before he could even push Glimmer's body off his own. This last action was all I could manage, and my head hit the ground as I blacked out.

I swam in and out of consciousness over the next part of an hour. I registered a few things, Marvel calling out for Glimmer. Clove shouting, "Cato, we found her! Cato?" Someone carrying me for a long time and then the sensation of force being applied to my hand. Then I pass out for good and the world went dark.


	10. I care

**Author's Note: Yay, I'm over 50 reviews now! That's very exciting and I'm super glad that you've all been enjoying my story so far. I can't quite believe that in only a few weeks I have written 10 chapters! In this chapter I'm using Marvel's POV for the first time, so tell me what you think. **

**I feel like I'm repeating the whole review thing, but please keep reviewing because I love reading them all and it's nice to know people are interested in this story. Enjoy chapter ten!**

**Chapter Ten – I care**

Marvel's POV

I knew the games were crazy, but phew, this was insane! Our first day in the arena was only just coming to an end and already I'd lost my district partner, Glimmer, making a grand total of 13 dead in the first 12 hours or so. But I wouldn't have time to grieve for my friend until I got out of the arena, _if_ I got out, because with Glimmer's body we also found Cato bleeding and delirious. You had to keep going and going in the games until you either died or won, and if you won you were haunted by the grief and the memories that you'd tried to ignore. As soon as Cato left our camp to go after Spens, we had discussed our game plan and decided to go in groups. Glimmer ran to try and catch up with Cato and by looking at the massacre I figured that she had found him.

Clove and I had teamed up and left later so we could appear if we were needed, but on the way we heard Grey calling out. Luckily we were close by; if we had been too far away we might not have been able to find her tucked in an old sycamore tree. Its branches had warped, pointing nearly fully outwards instead of upwards, but it made a good spot for someone to hide. Grey burst into tears when we found her, mostly from shock. She was tied to one of the branches with some rope; it had probably been in the backpack that she'd picked up, but we easily untied her and helped her off the tree. She explained to us that Spens had knocked her out and taken her into a part of the forest she didn't know. She said she wasn't hurt badly; Spens had cut along her hip from boredom but had only really been using her to get to Cato. I guessed it was probably a deep cut by looking at the amount of blood on the bottom of her shirt but she wasn't woozy or ready to collapse and she obviously wanted to make sure that Cato was safe before caring about herself. Spens was supposedly going to come back and kill her when he'd finished with the District 2 tribute but since he hadn't come back we were all hopeful that they hadn't run into each other yet.

After walking around for half an hour and not finding anything, we heard a cannon go off. Grey didn't make a sound, she knew that it would have given away our position and if Spens was alive nearby it could be fatal, but her eyes were wide and I knew she was scared for Cato. Neither Cato nor Grey had admitted to us that they were together or had any feelings except those from the alliance for one another but both Clove and I had seen the whole "lovers that won't admit it" on Capitol TV and it wasn't difficult to see the care in their eyes when they were together. Even if they argued more than Clove and Cato used to!

We had nearly given up hope for the day when finally we heard the sounds of pained moaning just in front of us. I hurried forward but gave Clove a look that she understood. She purposefully slowed down and grabbed a hold of Grey's arm to support her; who knew what would happen if she saw someone decapitated. What we saw instead was Glimmer slumped on the ground, a knife sticking up from her neck. I called her name and ran over with the intention of checking for a pulse but I already knew she was gone. I sat down on the ground beside her body and held her cold hand in mine.

"You always told me that you weren't going to win," I whisper to her, "but you deserved to. I just know that you went down protecting everyone else, you were always like that. I'm going to miss talking to you; you were always there for me during those late nights in the Capitol." I heard the faint sound of a hovercraft approaching and I quickly said my last goodbye and kissed Glimmer's cheek.

Cato was convulsing on the ground nearby in what could only be described as a pool of his own blood. I felt like I was missing a very vital detail, where was Spens? Something had happened here today but we wouldn't find out what it was until Cato was recovered enough to talk. He had a knife dug deep in his left hand and all the blood had come from that. I didn't know that so much blood passed through your hand, there was so much of it! Grey had already tried to wake him up but he was in some semi-conscious state and wouldn't respond.

"Don't worry, I'll pick him up and we can carry him back to camp and get first aid on his hand." I reassured her, and she nodded at me before noticing Glimmer's body for maybe the first time. She gasped and rushed to her, Clove in tow. I didn't hear how they said goodbye, but I heard Grey say, "…And one more thing, thank you for teaching me how to use a bow. I'll always think of you when I fire an arrow…" They returned to me when the claw came down to pick up the body, and we stood there together for a few seconds in silence. This wasn't how we thought the games would go.

But you had to keep moving, and so our little alliance of 4 kept going. I picked up Cato as gently as I could and positioned him over my shoulder. Grey picked up Cato's sword but it must have weighed a ton because she had to make an effort not to drag it along the ground. Clove removed the dagger from Glimmer's neck and joined us, picking up a backpack and bow that had been dropped nearby. What a _strong_ set of careers we'd turned out to be.

Grey's POV

It takes us a few hours to walk back to the cornucopia, partly because Marvel has to carry Cato, but also because we are all mourning Glimmer. I wish someone would just say something about her death, but Clove and Marvel have put up their career screens to keep their 'non-career' emotions inside. Maybe it's okay for them, but I don't have a career screen. A scraping sound gives me a fright until I realise that it's only Cato's sword grinding along the dirt. I adjust its weight in my hand until I'm holding it upright; I probably look menacing like this but I feel silly.

It was twilight when we found Cato and Glimmer but now it's definitely pitch black. The darkness prevents me from seeing more than a couple of meters in front of me, and we aren't following any sort of path. Every few minutes Clove has to hack away at some branches so we can head through them. How she knows her way back to the cornucopia, I have no idea, but she seems to know where she's going and I trust that she'll get us back safely. I trust Clove more than most people in this arena.

I sidle up beside Marvel. I can barely see his expression in the dark when he turns to me but it looks like an exhausted smile. I'm not particularly tired myself, but even Clove's movements have become sluggish over the past hour. I don't suppose they have slept since we entered the arena. 13 teenagers have died since then; it makes it feel like years ago. Cato is hanging limply off Marvel's shoulders. When we found him he almost looked conscious, trembling and muttering occasionally under his breath, but he's completely out now. I gently touch the side of his face and turn his head towards me, and I see that his eyebrows are furrowed in discomfort. I can't wait until we get that knife out of his hand. I know taking it out without compressing it could cause him to bleed to death but it would probably be much less painful than how it is now.

"Hey look, we're home." Clove whispers back to us, and in a couple of seconds I catch up to her and see that we are indeed back at the cornucopia. We manage to stumble our way to the entrance of the structure and those of us who are awake rummage through the packs trying to find sleeping bags. We manage to find four sleeping bags but no more than that, if Glimmer had been here we would have had to share, and Marvel finds a torch in the bag that he was searching through.

"I don't mind being on watch if you two want to sleep…" Marvel says softly as he lays Cato on a sleeping bag. Cato murmurs as his hand thumps maybe a little hard on the ground, and I figure that he'll wake up soon. A little flash of excitement runs up my body as I think of his arms around me, but then I see Marvel yawning at me, as if he's waiting for an answer.

"Oh no, go to bed Marvel," I reply, picking up the torch and plunking myself closer to the entrance of the cornucopia, "I'm really not tired at all. I must have fallen asleep for a bit while I was in the tree. I'll get onto wrapping Cato's hand too, but I probably won't be able to do anything without medicine, maybe I can ask sponsors tomorrow." Marvel nods at me sleepily but I doubt he heard anything I just said, so I gesture for him to go to his sleeping bag.

Clove's way ahead of him, already tucked in hers and lying against the inside wall of the cornucopia. I see a flash of metal, so she's still holding her knife. She mumbles something about me waking her up in 5 hours, and I grunt back an affirmative. Marvel pulls himself into his sleeping bag and collapses between Clove and I and he's the first to fall asleep, emitting infrequent little snores. I hear Clove snigger before she changes positions and eventually falls asleep herself.

Unable to ignore it any longer, I shuffle on my knees towards Cato. I feel a little twinge on my side and remember that there's still a wound there from where Spens hurt me, and at some point I'll have to look at it. I stop and gently prod it over my shirt. I decide that it doesn't feel too raw and apart from needing to give it a good wash at some point it'll probably heal in no time. Cato's hand will most likely be an entirely different story.

"Grey …Is that you?" I instantly flick on the torch and shine it towards Cato. He's up on his elbow straining to find me in the dark and I close the gap between us and grab onto his good hand. Cato pulls me down onto the sleeping bag with him and takes the torch from my grasp, turning it off so we're in complete darkness.

"Light might attract the other tributes." He whispers to me, so quiet that if we didn't have our foreheads pressed together I would not have been able to hear him. He then proceeds to explore my figure, touching the soft skin on my neck and running his fingers along my shoulders. I reach up and trace my fingers along his jaw and hairline, brushing some of his blonde hair back. We're like blind people, exploring each other in the darkness.

I hear him inhale deeply and the end of his breath catches, almost like a sob.

"I thought I'd lost you. That Spens would kill me and then kill you. I didn't think I cared, because I'm not supposed to. But I do, I care. _I care._" He scoops me up with one of his hands, I really hope it's not the one with the knife in it, and brings me closer to him until we're lying on our sides facing each other with our whole bodies touching. Then he's kissing me softly. Not roughly like that night in the Capitol but gently like he's protecting me and he'll never let me go, kissing me again and again. If kisses were words, they would be saying "I care."

We continue like this for a few minutes until Cato, always the leader, brings me into a bone crunching hug. His face presses into the crook of my neck and I realise that his face is clammy and cold with sweat.

"I'm okay, I promise. We're both okay, right here in the cornucopia. Together, and that's worth something, right?" I whisper into his hair and I hear him chuckle. I roll away from him and use my senses to try and find the torch again. Cato moans and reaches out to me, brushing my shoulder with his bad hand. I hear him wince.

With the torch on again, it's easier to find the first aid kit. It's poking out of Clove's backpack and I manage to retrieve it without disturbing her. I know she wants me to wake her up in 4 hours but I'd feel horrible since she's so tired, so I mentally decide to let her sleep a few hours longer. She's still got her hair in a braid and if I was at home in District 4 with my friends, they would have complained it was always up and that it would look way prettier loose. But now I know Clove as a career, whose whole life revolves around training and being here right now. It wouldn't be right to have it down now. It makes me realise just how different my old friends are to the ones I've made here; if you could call them friends… I definitely would, but they might all be secretly biding their time until they can kill me in my sleep.

I try to remember Finnick's advice from back in the Capitol. Something about imagining what my friends would say. It's a good idea in theory, but it's completely unhelpful for someone who doesn't even know who their friends are anymore. I can't imagine returning home to slip back into my group with Terra; I'd feel like an imposter. Maybe I could try to explain everything to Titus, but he knew nothing compared to what Cato did. I imagined Titus screaming at the screen just a few minutes before when I had been wrapped in Cato's arms. What Titus would say would probably just be a jumble of swear words.

Cato rustles on the sleeping bag impatiently and I realise I've been staring at the first aid kit while sitting in front of him for a couple of minutes now.

"Didn't they teach you how to open a zip at school?" He smirks, "Boy, someone's going to have trouble when it comes to my pants." I let out a laugh, it's a horrible joke, but it sounds like Cato and that's a good sign when I'm staring at his deathly pale face. I successfully open the kit and take out some bandages, holding them in one hand while I point the torch at his wound with the other. It looks really bad and I know the best I can do tonight is remove the knife and wrap up the wound. We're going to need medicine to help it heal and not get infected.

Cato sits up for me and holds out his left hand. I'm secretly flattered that he's trusting me with such an important job, so I mentally promise myself that I won't screw it up.  
"Okay. Well, I'm just going to have to pull it out. It's probably going to hurt a lot, but I'm sure it'll all look better once we get the knife out." Cato doesn't look at all like he believes me, but he tries to give a trusting smile before clamping his teeth down on a spare shirt. I guess it's better than biting off your tongue or screaming and waking up the entire arena. Feeling a little bit ill, I grab the knife's handle in one hand while shining the torch at it with the other, and then I pull it out. There's this horrible sound of metal ripping against flesh, or maybe it's more of a slurping sound, I don't want to think about it. Cato cries out but it's muffled by the shirt and quickly turns into a whimper. As soon as the knife is placed on the ground I'm wrapping up the wound as tightly as I can. I keep wrapping until I feel Cato's hand on my hand. I look down and realise that the bandage has been wrapped so many times that Cato's hand practically looks like a beach ball.

"It's okay, it feels heaps better. And I'm sure with your bandage on it, nothing will _ever_ touch it." Cato laughs, and I leap onto his lap. He grunts but pulls me against his chest. We don't say anything because we don't need to, but we both know that today one or both of us could have died. And we don't like that thought.


	11. Clove

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, here's chapter eleven. It doesn't have much of Grey and Cato in it; it's mostly Clove's internal thoughts. It's my version of a one shot. I've been so busy this past week, but I made myself finish this so I could get it up. I hope you like it! **

**Chapter eleven - Clove**

Capitol update starring Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith

Claudius: So what do you think of the games so far, Caesar?

Caesar: Well personally, I think this is going to be a very exciting Hunger Games. It's only the beginning of the second day in the arena and already there has been a battle between the two tributes with the highest chances of winning. I just know everyone here was on the edge of their seats during that scene.

Claudius: I certainly was. What do you think about this so called 'relationship' between the district 2 tribute Cato and the district 4 tribute Grey? I do remember them denying anything in their interviews.

Caesar: I wonder if we've been played Claudius! Even now there is no way to tell what they are making up and what is real. But what we do know is that the crowd is loving it!

Claudius: This is certainly going to make good television! I can't wait to see the final two battling it out. Will it be Cato and Spens fighting to the death?

Caesar: Keep watching and find out! After the break, we'll be back with our 24/7 74th annual Hunger Games coverage. I'm Caesar Flickerman and this is Claudius Templesmith coming to you on Capitol TVPN.

Clove's POV

I get to watch the sun go up for the first time in years. It's a bit weird coming to the conclusion that something artificially made by the Capitol can be so beautiful. The walls of the dome that make the arena are different shades of oranges and yellows as the sun slowly rises up. I figure that if he wanted to the Gamekeeper could instantly make it daytime by dragging the sun up with his finger or something, but I pretend for a second that they're doing it for me. In District 2, by the time the sun comes up I have already been training for at least an hour in order to get a few hours in before my first class started.

I had been attending school right up until I had been reaped; my parents thought it was important that I got a good education as well as a good training regime. I despised that they ran my life but being the good girl I am, I followed along like a puppy. Sometimes when I walked the route from school to the training center in the afternoon I would see girls my age with other hobbies; girls who didn't have to train every morning and every evening. Looking through the windows of houses along the street I could see people playing the piano, or kicking a ball around in the front yard. Girls like that got cell phones for their birthdays; I had received a knife instead. At least volunteering for the games had one advantage, I had been able to talk to Cato. In the evenings before the games we had talked together about our similar situations. Something I'd never been able to do before.

Cato had been forced out of school by his parents when he was younger than I am now. I remembered the day we signed up to volunteer together; it was only a few months ago. We were standing side by side filling out the forms and I noticed out of the corner of my eye just a little too much hesitation on his part as if he was struggling to piece the words together. I didn't dare help him, because I knew it would just make him feel pathetic.

Cato had been the one who persuaded me that I shouldn't just be a pawn in this harsh world. He told me that I should win the games for myself. That I should win to prove them all _wrong._ Why waste a good knife throwing talent? After that, every extra hour of training I put in was for my own benefit. Winning the games became a goal instead of a chore. Every few days, Cato's training schedule would coincide with mine and I'd catch him watching me with a proud expression. Together, we were going to stick it to all the people that tried to control us.

"How was the sunset?" A voice asked from behind me and I turned to see Marvel standing sleepily in the entrance of the cornucopia. I was about to tell him that he hadn't missed it when I realised that the sky was now high in the sky. I couldn't tell if I'd zoned out for longer than I thought or if someone in the control room had moved the sun up manually.

"I've never seen anything like it." I admitted to him and he grinned at me, tousling his hair with his hand.

"Ah, maybe I'll catch it tomorrow then." Marvel said, and I couldn't hide the smile that grew on my face. The way he had put it, that he'd even be _alive_ to see the sunrise tomorrow made me feel happy for a moment.

"Now it's day two in the arena." He continued, coming and sitting down next to me. He was holding a package and he opened it to reveal a loaf of bread which he broke a piece off of.

"Mhm," I nodded as I chewed on the piece he gave to me, "We probably need to set up a permanent camp closer to the lake. Being right in the cornucopia like this isn't a good place to be, especially with Cato weakened." Not far from the cornucopia was a large lake and having it dominated by our career pack would be a move in the right direction.

"Speaking of Cato, I couldn't wake him up. Same with Grey, they must be exhausted from yesterday." Marvel said, standing up and brushing a few crumbs from his blood-splattered pants.

"Yes…" I quietly replied, thinking of Grey who had kept watch the entire night so Marvel and I could sleep. I admit I had been tired, but I would have willingly pulled my weight anyway. Sensing that I was thinking quietly to myself, Marvel disappeared for a few seconds into the cornucopia mouth.

He returned a few minutes later with a spear, one of my knives and a backpack on his back. Knowing better than to chuck a weapon; Marvel came over and handed my knife to me.

"I thought it might be nice to go out for a hunt this morning." He said, smirking and intentionally leaving out whether we'd be hunting for animals or tributes. I suppose it didn't matter either way.

Marvel and I headed off away from the camp and into the forest, but not before playing a prank on our two sleeping allies. Cato and Grey were sleeping quietly near the entrance of the cornucopia. One of them had pulled up their sleeping bag so they could lie next to each other but they weren't actually touching. Marvel put his finger to his lips signalling for me to be quiet as he snuck up to the sleeping tributes. I knew you'd have to be silent near Cato when he was sleeping, if you woke him up you'd have a blade in your stomach before you even had time to say 'good morning.' Marvel knelt beside Grey and pondered for a second his plan. Then he began to arrange their arms and legs so it looked like they'd been _having fun_ the night before. Unbuttoning Cato's shirt as a final cherry on top, Marvel stood back to survey his work and cracked himself up.

"Oh I wish I had a camera… Hang on, we do!" He whispered humorously, gesturing around him to invisible Capitol cameras that were no doubt trained on them right now. I rolled my eyes at the immature District 1 tribute.

"You're so weird Marvel." I said and he smirked at me.

"Well you have to get some thrills in the arena, don't you?" He laughed as he followed me out of the structure. I could kind of see where he was coming from and I was glad that I had someone to make the games seem less solemn. But Cato was so going to kill him when he woke up.

The two of us trudged into the forest together, moving away from the cornucopia and the wheat-fields beyond it. We hadn't discussed it but it had gone without saying that we would avoid that area of the arena unless we absolutely had to. It was too easy to release dangerous animals like poisonous snakes into the tall plants and we'd easy be caught off guard. It was better not to talk about it though, revealing your weakness to the Capitol was basically rule number 1 in the guide to being a career.

We walked about an hour into the dense forest before we even heard movement. Well, Marvel heard movement. I just stood there uselessly as he concentrated on listening out for the sound of another tribute or animal. He eventually decided that he'd heard something coming from our right and began to run towards it, leaving me to hurry after him. Marvel may have been a better tracker than me, but I was definitely a better killer. No harm in a little competition, right?

I slowed down to a jog when I started hearing a rustling sound coming from in front of us. Marvel and I hid silently behind a cluster of trees as we surveyed what was happening. Not far ahead I could see someone with their back to us; they were crouching down fiddling with something on the ground. From the back all I could see was very light blonde hair that was shaved close to the scalp. Not muscular like Cato or tall and agile looking like Marvel, this tribute was tiny and scrawny; he didn't even look like he was old enough to train. I could see his tiny shoulder blades poking out of his jacket which made him look malnourished. _Small but possibly quick, little or no training, weak. _I couldn't help but analyse him like that, it was more of a habit than anything else. Sometimes in the training academy they would line you all up against the wall and the trainers would pick one tribute at random. They would stand in front of us and we would list attributes that might negatively affect them in the arena. Well that's how the trainers explained it. I viewed it more as a pop quiz of how you would kill someone. That boy has a weak left arm, she can't use a sword. While I was given pop quizzes on the history of Panem in school during the morning, I had pop quizzes about how to take advantage of people's weaknesses in the afternoon.

I remember seeing Cato being called up one day. Normally always ready to offer a weakness, I was unusually speechless. Cato was enormous, strong, fast; the perfect tribute. But it was his temper that was his downfall. Even as the other trainees pointed this particular flaw out to him, I could see his nostrils flaring in anger and his mouth curl into a mean sneer. What I learnt from that? _Everyone _has a weakness.

Back in the arena, my hand slipped down to my knife as I got ready to approach the tribute. Marvel put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head to me.

"Make it quick," He whispered, "Don't drag out your kills like I know you want to. It is way too dangerous with so many tributes still left in the arena. Situations change instantly." I was going to come up with a smart comment to shoot back but I realised that he was right. I needed to think about all the possibilities. Maybe that was my weakness? Thinking too rashly and ending up putting myself in way too much danger. Your opponent's allies could be mere seconds behind you. I quickly snuck a look backwards just to check that there wasn't anyone behind me, before I quickly aimed and threw my knife at the boy. It hit right on target, just a little left from the center of his back, and he fell face first onto the ground. He never even knew we were there. **BOOM. **_10 tributes left._

**BOOM.**

That gets my attention. It gets Marvel's too because before the second cannon has even finished going off we are staring at each other, worry written all over our faces. Who was the second cannon? Cato and Grey are probably the last people we should be worrying about but we still do, internally panicking that Spens has gone to the cornucopia and murdered one of them.

We start sprinting back the way we came, taking no notice of the loud noise we are making. I nearly trip up on a root that's grown up from the ground but I manage to right myself before falling face first. It's weird because we're running for a good half an hour, so it doesn't take long before the anxiety we had originally felt starts to fade away. And then once the fear has ebbed away it feels like we are just running for no purpose at all. We stumble for a little while longer until finally we come out into the clearing where the cornucopia is still standing strong. Relief floods over me when I see Cato and Grey standing guard together. They're both holding large weapons with hard looks on their faces. They look like the perfect billboard publicising the games. Except there's two of them and by standing together it's like they are directly rebelling against the Capitol.

"Clove!" Grey screams as she catches sight of me, her face broadening into a grin. I smile back at her and head towards her and Cato. Cato drops his sword and visibly sags, and for the first time I notice that he's cradling his bandaged up hand. Grey's gaze flicks to him for a second, and she quickly touches his arm. Marvel comes up so we're all standing together.

"We thought you were dead." Grey says to the two of us.

"We thought one of you were dead." I say back, and we all frown. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck prick up and I hurriedly look around, just waiting for someone to burst out of the trees and attack us. These games are driving me crazy.


	12. I'll protect you

**Author's Note: Sorry, this chapter is a lot shorter than I would have liked it to be. But I've been studying for exams which are beginning at the end of this week so I have had barely any time to write. I thought I should upload this because a short chapter is better than nothing in my opinion! Read, review, you know the drill. **

**Also, I'm open to suggestions of what you want to happen, so feel free to tell me what you want to read! Enjoy!**

**Chapter twelve – I'll protect you**

Cato's POV

Earlier…

_I'm in the middle of the forest built into the arena, holding my sword tightly in my right hand. _

"_Cato!" My vision starts fading in and out, as if I'd been training for hours without staying hydrated. I want to throw up but I force myself to look in the direction that the scream came from. Grey is on the ground in front of me and Spens towers over her with a bloody knife held in his hand. She's screaming and cowering away from Spens with a petrified look in her eyes, oblivious to me standing there, but Spens sees me and laughs in my face. _

"_Bet you can't save her, Cato." He spits, and I angrily try to slash him with my sword. But my left hand is damaged and it's agony to even control the blade. _

_Grey is still screaming for me, even though I'm standing right there. I try and tell her that it is going to be okay but my voice won't make the words, it's like I don't exist anymore. _

"_Cato! Ca-to! Please, where are you?"_

I sit up straight with a gasp, my breathing uneven and choked. It's dark and cold and I'm shivering. Was that a nightmare? _Careers aren't meant to get scared. _I try and steel myself by breathing deeply. There's a painful throbbing in my injured hand and softly prodding it with my finger makes me wince.

There's a quiet mumble and the body on me stirs a little. My eyes adjust to the light and I realise that there's a dull orange glow streaming in from the cornucopia entrance. Using it for light I can see Grey curled up on top of me. Her hair is flowing down my stomach and onto the sleeping bag that we're lying on. She's got her cheek pressed against my chest and I can feel her warm breath against my cool skin. Hang on, why can I feel her on my bare skin? I sit up on my elbows while trying not to disturb her and see that my shirt's been pulled open to reveal my torso. _What the hell happened last night? _Did we? No, she wouldn't have let me anyway. I snigger at my own joke and it must disrupt Grey's sleep because she breathes in deeply and pushes herself up my body until her head tucks under my chin.

Caught in the moment, I hold her skinny shoulder with my hand so she doesn't slip off me and kiss the top of her head. Even in the arena her hair is like silk. I feel her eyelashes flutter on the skin of my neck and I quickly move my hands away from her, tucking the uninjured one under my head and trying to muster up a sly smirk. It takes a few seconds before she fully wakes up, _I wonder what she was dreaming about_, but I know when she realises what she's lying on. She's up in an instant, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest. What, she thinks I'd take her shirt off without her permission?

"Aww," I coo, "You ruined the moment." Grey glares at me.

"How long were you awake, you pervert! I bet you purposefully opened your shirt like that." She replies, gesturing in the general direction of my chest. She thinks she's sneaky, but I see her eyes hover over me for a second too long. I run my fingers through my hair and stand up, stretching my sore muscles. Grey looks like she's in fight or flight mode, as if she doesn't trust me. I close up the gap between us and bring her into my arms. She doesn't push away but I feel the tension in her frame.

"What are you doing?" She says into my neck. I growl into her hair, a mixture of a "no" and a "shush," but I end up answering anyway.

"I was feeling generous." Truthfully, after my nightmare I just wanted to know that she was okay, but I would never admit it to her.

**BOOM**

**BOOM**

I feel Grey jump. That's two more tributes dead. How many does that leave? I hadn't really been concentrating on the exact number of tributes left; my plan was to fight until I won, no matter how many tributes I had to go through. While I'm strategizing, Grey breaks out of my embrace and hurriedly scans around us.

"Where's Clove and Marvel? You don't think it was them do you?" She says to me, her eyes showing such innocent fear that for a moment I just want to shield her from this crappy world. Okay maybe not shield, I'd rather hop into a sleeping bag with her. But that's not the point.

"I don't know. They must have gone hunting while we were both asleep. All we can do right now is wait, if they're alive then they will come back here."

Grey stands there looking at me for a few seconds with a look of partial disgust on her face. Whoops, I don't think I had enough sympathy in my voice when I said that. She's standing beside our pile of supplies, holding her arms around herself to shield from the cold wind that has begun to whistle through the cornucopia. It makes her look small and unprotected. I think over my options; I could reply with some heartless sarcastic comment that would probably hurt her, or I could actually try and comfort her. I didn't normally _do_ comfort, but I could try. I stride over to her and bring her into my arms again. She squeaks as the skin of her arms touches the flesh of my still-bare chest but then goes quiet.

I can feel her heartbeat beating against my chest and it shocks me how fast its rhythm is. She's stressed out.

"Hey come on, calm down," I say quietly to her, squeezing a little tighter to emphasise my words, "Deep breathing is good." I hear something that sounds like a cough in reply, but it takes me a moment to realise that it's probably her attempt at a laugh. I pull my head away from her so I can look her in the face, and although she looks worried there's a certain amount of defiance showing in her eyes.

"Cato?" She asks, "Do you remember back in the Capitol the night before the games?" I grunt an affirmative.

"You said that you didn't want to show emotion because the Capitol would use it against you, but why here and now?" I find her hand and clasp it in my own.

"Does it matter? I am not going let the Capitol try to control me anymore. All you need to know is that I will always protect you. I will always come and find you. Every time, I promise. Got it?" Grey doesn't reply but I feel her nod slightly, as if her body is giving away her true emotions.

I give her one last squeeze, so she'll remember my arms on her, and I re-button my shirt and start to rummage in the backpacks for something we can eat. I'd call it breakfast but the sun has already partially gone down so it's more like dinner. We must have both slept for a good 12 hours. Grey's standing where I let go of her, perfectly still. I think she's shocked by my sudden display of emotion, and to be honest I am too. It would have probably been easier to have just said something sarcastic.

I unwrap some dried meat and a loaf of bread and I break off a piece for Grey and myself. Having not eaten for a long time, I hungrily tear at the food while Grey looks on.

"Come here." I manage to say in between chewing. "You have to eat something." She hesitates a little but I know she's hungry so I decide to joke around.

"Fine, don't eat if you don't want to Grey. But I will eat your share. I swear I'll do it." I tease, smirking and holding her piece of meat temptingly near my open mouth. Her face breaks into a smile, the first smile I've seen on her face this morning. The Hunger Games bring the solemn expressions out of everybody. She groans in an over exaggerated way and snatches her food off me, sitting down beside me.

Grey's POV

_Cato actually cares about me?_ I knew he _looked out for_ me in an alliance way, but I felt more like a disposable toy sometimes. I mean, this was a game where only one person got out alive; it was kind of hard to decide that you were going to look after someone until the end. 'I'm going to protect you.' Does that mean he'll kill himself so I can win? Or is it some cryptic comment that makes him feel less guilty about killing me? I decide that it's easier to just not ask.

I notice out of the corner of my eye that Cato is only using his right hand to eat and his left is sitting loosely in his lap.

"Is your hand okay?" I ask, and Cato lifts it slightly as if he's testing it.

"No" is his reply. I realise that it won't improve unless we receive medicine from sponsors. I'm sure nothing in the arena would help him; the Gamemaker wouldn't have lifesaving ingredients growing on trees because that would be too easy.

We finish eating without talking and as soon as I'm done I hurry outside. I feel Cato come up beside me like some silent bodyguard. I try and think of a way to ask someone I can't even see for medicine, but before I can do anything, I see Clove and Marvel come jogging towards us. Relief floods over me.

"Clove!" I shout out, and I see her smile and smirk at me. I want to give her a hug because I'm so happy that she's okay, but I force myself to stay where I am.

"We thought you were dead." We all say at the same time when Marvel and Cato join us. Everyone looks relieved, even Cato who didn't seem particularly affected has the ghost of a smile on his face.

Before we can head into the cornucopia, the Panem anthem starts playing and a hologram is projected on the wall of the arena. It shows a picture of a male and a female tribute, neither of which I recognize. I don't think Cato had been keeping count but I know that there are only nine tributes left in the games now.

"Who's still alive?" I hear Cato ask, and Marvel begins to list the nine tributes. Some I've never even heard of. When he says Spens' name, Cato tenses beside me.

"He can't be alive!" He hisses, "I stabbed him! He was lying on the ground!" I start getting a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I knew Spens was still alive, but the fact that Cato thought he was dead frightened me a little. Marvel starts wringing his hands nervously.

"When we found you and Glimmer in the clearing, Spens was gone. I think it's time you told us what happened."

So Cato tells us everything that happened from the moment he left the camp until when he woke up in the cornucopia. He misses out the part about me sleeping on top of him, but Marvel has a strange look on his face, almost as if he's expecting to hear it. Weird. I get a cold feeling when Cato talks about stabbing Spens and passing out, expecting his enemy to be taken care of permanently. I can tell he's pretty angry about it; he doesn't strike me as someone who ever misses a kill. As he stands there talking he wrings his hands in irritation and I keep wanting to stop him so he doesn't damage his hand. By the time Cato finishes his story I can almost feel the anger radiating off him, and Marvel and Clove are both sneering and looking around suspiciously as if they expect Spens to jump out at any second. I try not to have any emotion, blanking my expressions as much as I can. _If I don't think about it then it doesn't exist_.

Suddenly, we all hear a beeping sound. Marvel and Cato throw themselves forward and shield the two of us girls behind them. I hear Clove grumble but I'm too frightened thinking about whether it could be a bomb, or the mines resetting, to be annoyed that the male tributes are protecting me. We stand in a huddle for a few long seconds; it would make a perfect action shot to be used to publicise the games next year. Then Cato holds his hand up to catch the sponsor parachute that slowly floats down from the sky. He turns on his heel to face us and smirks, one eyebrow raised.


	13. Camp

**Author's Note:**** Hi everyone! Here's chapter thirteen. Please please review, because I've only been getting 3 reviews a chapter lately! ****  
**

**Chapter Thirteen - Camp**

Grey's POV

A sponsor parachute, really? I had just about fainted with fear when I heard the beeping noise, my mind immediately deciding that the mines around the tribute podiums were being reset and would explode in a matter of seconds. There was a possibility, you could even say it was _likely_, that the Gamemaker would eventually get sick of our happy little career alliance and decide to split us up permanently. It was only the evening of our second day in the arena but with only four of us left in our group now, there was an increasing tension that the longer we stayed together, the more danger we would be put in. But watching Cato and Clove laugh as Marvel playfully re-enacted their petrified expressions made me realise that I wanted them beside me for as long as possible. We'd go down together if we had to.

"Grey. The note's for you." Cato had moved away from the other two and was standing in front of me, holding a metal container and a small slip of paper. Handing the paper to me, his eyebrows furrowed together as he unlocked the canister. He didn't wait for my permission to open the parcel and I didn't bother giving it. The only thing I had wanted was medicine for his hand and I knew that Cato knew that. Though I whole-heartedly agreed on the 'sharing is caring' idea, Cato casually opening something addressed to me would no doubt annoy the Capitol.

Cato tried not to show it, but I saw him flinch as the lid came off in his hurt hand. The bandage I had applied last night had done its job in stopping the blood flow, but now it was just a blood-soaked piece of cloth. Looking away from the blonde tribute in front of me for a moment, I looked down and read the note. It was short and simple and was signed with an F at the bottom. F for Finnick. It read, '**You're doing okay so far but if you want the Gamemaker to leave you four alone then I suggest you try harder. Be imaginative**.' I looked up to see Cato's icy blue eyes staring me down so I handed him the letter as he gave me the container. Playing with it in my hands, I found a smaller pot of a clear gel-like substance and a few bandages inside. I screwed the lid back on for the moment but didn't give it back to Cato, whose mouth turned up in an evil smirk as he tucked the note deep into his jacket pocket. We didn't say anything to each other, and I figured that Cato was probably irritated that he was being told what to do.

We returned together to the inside of the cornucopia, where Clove and Marvel had turned on the torches and were rummaging inside the packs for food.

"What was in the parachute?" Marvel asked with his back to us, sticking his hand deep into the bag he was searching through and pulling out a handful of small food parcels. When neither of us replied, he turned to look at us and Cato held up his blood soaked hand, smirking.

"Does it really need to be explained?" He laughed his 'Capitol laugh' before adding in a softer voice, "I don't even know if this stuff will work; what if I lose my hand?" Marvel didn't reply but I saw him rub the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Clove was sitting frozen in the corner, her shoulders tense as she roughly pulled things out of her bag.

Cato's comment put a harsh damper on all our thoughts, and even Marvel's jokes felt a little flat as we ate. Once we had all finished, Cato growled that he was going to keep watch for the night and the rest of us should get some sleep. I opened my mouth to argue, but I felt a small hand on my shoulder and saw Clove standing at my side, shaking her head.

"Let him be."

Cato positioned himself close to the entrance and stretched his legs out with his back against the wall. I went to drag my sleeping bag over to him but the look he gave me was enough to know that I wasn't wanted. I tried not to show the hurt on my face as I shuffled over to where Clove and Marvel were already settled for the night, and I made sure I lay with my back facing Cato. My head was close to Marvel's and I could see him give me a sympathetic look.

"Clove told me he gets like this sometimes." He whispered to me so that Cato couldn't hear us, "But once he has time with his own thoughts, he'll be fine. If he needs a night to himself with us asleep, so be it. But don't worry that he's stopped caring about you, because it's easy to see that he does." I whisper "thanks" and reach out to grab Marvel's hand. He squeezes my fingertips with his hand and then pulls his sleeping back up to his chin.

I lie still for a long time, listening to the breathing of Marvel and Clove beside me. My back is facing Cato and there's no sound coming from his direction. I want to turn over and watch him think, wrap my arms around him and tell him that he'll be fine, but he certainly doesn't want my help. Before I had gotten into my sleeping bag I had placed the container of medicine half way to where Cato was sitting, and although I saw his eyes flick to it, he never moved to pick it up. Eventually I slip into a light sleep that's not touched by dreams.

When my eyes open again the light hasn't changed at all, it's still dark in the cornucopia. It's one of those times when you begin to wonder if you'd ever been asleep at all. I hear a sharp intake of breath followed by a muffled groan and I pull my sleeping bag away from my ear so I can hear better. It's definitely Cato; he must be doing something with his hand. I want to turn over and look at him but he'll instantly know I'm awake and possibly be as angry as last night.

I fake a moan that I hope sounds like me stirring and I turn to face the other side with my eyes closed. Cato goes silent and I know he's looking straight at me, but I don't dare open my eyes.

"That was the most horribly fake moan I've heard in my life, Grey, seriously. Come here." I open my eyes and hesitantly sit up.

"I thought it was good!" I defend myself, speaking quietly so as not to wake up Clove and Marvel. I slowly crawl out of my sleeping bag on my hands and knees and head towards him. He holds out his arm and envelops me so that my shoulder is tucked up under his arm.

"Do you need some help fixing your hand?" I whisper to Cato when I see the opened container of medicine resting on his leg. He sighs in agitation and holds his left hand near my face.

"Healing was never really my thing."

With Cato's hand so close to my nose I can smell the acidic smell of his blood.

"I was trying to clean it out so I could put the medicine on it." He growls, tracing the fingers of his right hand over a bloody cloth that he must have been using to clean his wound. I notice that not once does he mention the pain that he must be in, and then I remember that Careers aren't meant to feel pain.

"I don't think Capitol medicine works like that. I think you just put the gel straight on it." I reply. Cato makes no move to get the medicine and instead clenches his jaw and pulls his hand away in defiance. He's probably unimpressed that for once I know more than he does, but after a couple of seconds Cato shoves his wound at me, and I can almost hear his thoughts saying '_do it' _gruffly_._

Ignoring the blood that's dripping off his hand, Cato had reopened the wound by attempting to clean it; I cup his hand in mine and I use my fingers to scoop out the gel. It is cold on my fingers, and when I coat the center of Cato's palm with it he lets out a sigh and sinks down the wall a bit.

"Does it feel better?" I ask him as I finish the application of the gel and start wrapping his hand with a clean bandage. He laughs softly and the tension is out of his voice.

"So much better, it's like a cold shower after training."

"I guess you could say that." I laugh too, and with his hand safely protected in crisp bandages Cato is able to pull me closer to him until I'm leaning against his chest and he has both his arms wrapped around me.

We are silent for a few minutes until he asks, "So was that because of the note or because you care about me?"

"Not telling." I whisper.

"You've always been stubborn." He growls in my ear but chuckles softly.

Cato kisses the top of my head and begins to stroke my hair almost absentmindedly. I sit leaning against his chest as he traces along my jaw and neck for a while, his finger getting slower and slower as if he's dosing off. I don't mind if he does, I'll happy take up guard duty if I get to stay in his arms. I know he falls asleep when his hand gently drops away to land softly on my waist, and I stay like this in his arms until morning.

The sound of a bird cawing far in the distance wakes Clove and Marvel at dawn. They can't help staring at the sight of Cato's sleeping form with his arms around me, and apart from giving them a smirk I don't bother explaining. Understandably tired from everything he's been through, Cato doesn't stir until Clove, Marvel and I begin talking about our plan for the day.  
"We need to get started moving our stuff closer to a water source so that we will have something to come back to after we go hunting tributes." Cato's voice is commanding as he stands up, and even though his hand is covered with white cloth he's as fierce looking as ever. I'm beginning to accept that his personality can change so easily, he can be nice one second and then wake up more arrogant than ever. No one argues with him as he shoulders a few bags, we knew that staying in the cornucopia forever wasn't a good idea; it was too easy to be cornered.

Over the next hour we move all our supplies from the cornucopia to the nearby lake. It's partly surrounded by forest but on one side there is a clearing which is suitable for a camp. Marvel begins to set up a covered area using some trees and a tarpaulin while Clove and I move the final bags and sleeping bags to our new camp. Cato had retrieved a sword from the pile and was hacking at one of the trees like I had seen him do in training. Clove didn't even bat an eyelash at him so I figured it must be pretty normal. As long as he wasn't cutting down the tree that held up the canvas Marvel had just put up, I was happy.

As soon as the camp is completed, Marvel walks the short distance to the edge of the lake and starts to splash his face and arms with water. Clove joins Cato with her knives and she uses the tree beside him as her target. I decide that Marvel's idea suits me more, but I start to follow the stream that weaves its way through the trees and out of sight instead. Ever weary of the dangers of being alone in the games, I make sure to stay within screaming distance, and as I leave I catch Cato's gaze and he faintly nods at me. It's still early so the other tributes probably wouldn't be hunting yet, but it was nice to have a safety net.

I follow along the stream for a few minutes until I find a smaller lake which is just perfect for swimming! I strip down to my underclothes and dive into the water and even though it's only been a day I can feel the caked on dirt washing off my body. I soak my hair and swim alongside the bank for a while, until I hear something.

"Interested in company?" A voice purrs from behind me.


	14. Siren

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! This chapter was actually super fun to write because once I got into it; it became really exciting even though I know what's going to happen. The characters that I've made up feel quite real to me, and I try to get the emotions I feel when I write this across to you readers. **

**I hope you are all still enjoying it, there are not as much reviews anymore but there are lots of alerts on this so hopefully you are all still reading it! Just the fact that people are reading this makes me feel accomplished. Please review though, because that's even better.**

**Chapter Fourteen - Siren**

Cato's POV

"Interested in company?" I purr as Grey resurfaces from the river. She shakes the water out of her hair and I swear it's happening in slow motion. Argh, why is she so attractive? _Get your head in the game. _I pull my gaze away from her and look away into the trees towards the direction of our camp instead. I had left Marvel napping and Clove throwing knives, she'd easily be able to protect them both if another tribute appeared.

My eyes are slowly drawn back Grey's dripping body. She's in her underwear and I can see her arena clothing draped neatly across a rock on the edge of the water. After a couple of seconds of ignoring me, she finally turns to look. She swims over to the edge of the bank where I'm standing with a slight smirk on her face. Thinking back to how frightened she used to look during training sessions back in the Capitol, I realise that since being in the arena she has become a lot more like us; strong, courageous careers.

"What are you doing here Cato? Come to watch me bathe, you creep?" Her eyes are full of laughter but she smartly stays low enough in the water so that the ripples in the water brush against her chin.

"Do I need a reason to come and see my friend?" I reply, making my voice drip with sarcasm. Grey picks up on it instantly and her reply is just as sarcastic.

"Friends? Oh I'm sorry; I thought we were allies with benefits." I growl at her flirtatiously and reach into the water, lifting her out like some beached mermaid. She protests for a moment but once her toes leave the water she wraps her legs around my waist.

Our lips press together for a moment in a steamy soaking kiss until Grey pulls away and asks about my hand. I groan and drop her a little roughly back into the river. She squeals as she hits the water but pulls herself back out to sit underneath me. I don't want to think about my hand, while training this morning against the tree I had to grit my teeth in order to hold the blade, but I admit it was much better than the agonising pain that had been present the night before.

I kneel down beside the water and start to unwrap the bandage. Grey crawls beside me and seems to have forgotten that's she's probably half naked on every screen in Panem. I look at her out of the corner of my eye and for a second she reminds me of the girls that used to shove themselves at me back in District 2. I push the thought out of my head, disgusted; Grey is nothing at all like those sluts. She's so down to earth and normal and unlike anyone I've ever met before. She has a heart and soul that just radiates light. I think my soul died a long time ago.

"Oh Cato, your hand looks way better! I can't believe it!" Grey's face breaks into a wide smile as she holds my hand in hers. There's a crusty scab over what used to be a gaping hole and I breathe out a sigh of relief that I didn't even know I was holding.

"I bet with another dose of that Capitol medicine you'll be good as new!" I can't hide the smile that spreads slowly across my face at the thought of being able to go after more tributes without being in pain. Suddenly, her face contorts into a grimace as if she's smelt something horrible.

"You seriously need a shower Cato, what have you been doing?" I don't bother answering, she knows I've been killing other tributes and it's not hard to imagine that I am probably followed by the gross smell of blood, sweat and dirt. She reaches up and tries to pull me into the water by my arena shirt, and I slip out of my clothing and dive in wearing only my boxer shorts. For a second we both tread water, not knowing what to do with each other in this new environment.

Then all of a sudden I have my arms around her and I'm kissing her. Our combined weights make us sink a little in the current, but it's okay because we give each other air. I force myself to open my eyes underwater and see Grey in my arms, her hair spreading in every direction like wispy seaweed. Her eyes are tightly shut and she's using her hands to feel my chest and hold onto me. She's like a mermaid, no wait, _a siren. _A mythological creature that I remember studying a long time ago back in District 2 at school before I had been forced to leave. Sirens sat on the rocks and lured fishermen to their death. Was Grey was making me lose sight of what I came here to do? I came here to win, and if I lost sight of that then I'd surely become weak. _I only know how to push people away._

I push myself out of the water as quickly as I can, pulling my clothes onto my wet body without hesitation. Grey gets out too and does the same, redressing at the same speed as me while watching with wide eyes. She probably thinks I've heard someone after us, but little does she know that I'm actually running from her.

"Hey look, all clean. Sweet, gotta go, I'll see you back at camp." I say hurriedly, not bothering to put my boots on. I look around tensely, just waiting for someone to jump out of the trees because I've been putting my lust before my arena tactics. I must look crazy. Grey tries to grab my arm, but I shrug away from her and run back through the forest without looking back.

Grey's POV

Cato disappears before the feeling of his hands on my skin has faded. I stand there dumbfounded as river water drips down my legs. I can't understand Cato, one second he's kissing me and it's feeling amazing, and then suddenly he's just gone without an explanation. Normally I would be upset that just toying with my emotions, but in the Hunger Games relationships are so low priority that I barely even register that he's using me for his own lust. I think about following him but I decide against it, and instead I tie up my boots and start walking in the opposite direction from our camp.

"Psst!" I nearly jump a meter in the air from fright as I hear someone trying to signal me. For a second I think that it's Cato playing a practical joke, but when I follow the sound it leads me to a tree and when I look up I see a small face looking back. Rue!

As soon as she knows I've seen her she drops down from one of the lower branches, landing delicately beside me. We embrace each other and I'm so happy that's she's still alive. She's my only friend outside of the career alliance and sometimes I feel like she might be my only friend at all. I immediately regret not taking a back pack with me to swim because I realise that I have nothing at all to give her. She could be starving for all I know, while I eat like a queen.

"Are you okay Rue?" I say once we've parted, and she nods happily in reply.

"I'm fine, this place is full of berries that we have back in District 11 and the stream has fresh water flowing through it!" I try and hold down a blush at the thought of the water quality after Cato and I had swum in it but Rue doesn't seem to notice my embarrassment and she ploughs on through, giving me a recount of what had happened since the beginning of the games. It's refreshing to see such a bright and excited face, and I know if I had gotten so far into the games on my own I'd be pretty ecstatic too.

"I saw you with Cato." She says suddenly, but she poses it like a question and my thoughts stop abruptly.

"Oh, uh, I'm in his alliance." I try and say without blushing. Saying this to Rue makes me feel like a coward, I'm the one hiding behind big strong careers while she is on her own. I don't ask where her district partner is.

"I know, silly," She bounces around with a strange look on her face and I don't understand until she continues, "Why did he kiss you and then run away?" Oh gosh. She saw our kiss. This gets better and better. I stumble over my words for a few sentences, trying to explain as she looks at me sneakily with one eyebrow raised. After going through various answers, I eventually just sigh and mutter "I don't know." Rue seems particularly pleased that she's gotten me to this point and she dances around on her toes saying "You liiiiike him, you like Cato!" I stand there awkwardly in the middle of her celebration, wondering what the Capitol thinks of this. They are probably laughing and "aww"ing about how adorable the little District 11 girl is and I don't really blame them.

"Okay okay." I say in defeat, but I can't stop myself from smiling. It's so relieving having Rue to talk with, she isn't like Cato who is constantly swapping between his conflicting interests. For a second I think that maybe the careers will let her into the alliance, but then the realisation that this is a game kicks in and I know that if they find Rue, they'll kill her. They don't have a choice.

Rue picks some berries for the two of us and we have a meal together, sitting against a large tree. The sun is directly above us, and although the Gamemakers could be trying to confuse us, I figure that it probably is around midday anyway. It's been a long time since Cato went back to camp and I know that I should probably go back to him or else he'll come looking for me. Or maybe not, after what happened at the river…

Rue tells me about her life in 11. I get the idea that although the games frighten her; she gets time to play here, something she doesn't get to do back home. That fact makes me sad. She works in the fields from 8 to 5 picking the fruit at the top of trees, but if the Peacekeepers think she's misbehaving then they won't hold back on their punishment. I gasp at the idea of someone hurting such an innocent child, but she says it so easily and even shows me one of her scars she got from falling out of a tree, that I think it must have happened often. I have no scars to show her in response but I tell her about my home by the ocean instead, and her eyes have gone as wide as saucers by the end of it. I take the sea for granted, District 4 is the only one on the coast but I always expect everyone else to have experienced the same things that I have. Some people probably live and die without ever seeing big crashing waves.

Suddenly, there's a sound of rustling in the trees and it catches our attention. Stupidly I brush it off, thinking that it's Cato or one of the career tributes.

"Stop being annoying Cato, we know it's you." I call out in the direction of the sound. Rue grips my arm fearfully; she knows that no matter who it is, she'll be in danger. But surely Cato would give her a head start, right? For me? I can just imagine his emotions conflicting with his nature as I plead for him to let Rue go, but then eventually he would say "I didn't see anything, okay?" and let Rue run.

But when the figure walks out into the clearing I catch a glimpse of black hair and I realise that I have made a huge mistake. How could I have forgotten? _Spens._

"Are you sure it's Cato?" He purrs out of the corner of his mouth, and I flinch away from him as he moves closer. I try and push Rue up while staying in front of her; if I can keep Spens's attention on me then maybe she can get to safety. After all, Spens wants Cato and I, and I won't be any fun to kill if Cato's not here to watch. The fact that I can think of his true intentions disgusts me, and I try to push the thought out of my head. Spens is absolutely crazy.

"I notice your pretty boyfriend isn't here to save you Grey." _Don't let him get to you. _"For all you know, I've already slit their throats. He called out for you in his last second though, before the light left his eyes. He knew you were next. He was a good contender, lots of sponsors. Very skilled, such a shame his emotions got in the way." My legs start feeling a little wobbly but I try to stay cold, I know he's bluffing and I have to act strong in order to seal Rue's freedom. "But guess what, I'm going to kill this little girl here in front of you first." _No…_ I can't control myself, and I leap at Spens with my hands going towards his throat. He laughs and easily deflects me, obviously one step ahead. I'm unarmed and it only takes a second before he punches me in the gut, leaving me hunched on the ground wheezing for air. I try to kick at him blindly, and I actually connect with his knee, causing him to swear. He kicks sharply at my stomach and looms over me, using his body to hold me down. I'm forced to turn my head sideways when he pulls a knife from his belt and holds it against my neck. I can see Rue standing to the side, looking shaken and frightened. I want to tell her to run but if I remind Spens he might just kill her.

Spens presses his knife deeper and it bites into the skin on my neck. He's looking directly at me even though I'm trying to look away from him. His breath smells like blood, like he's been with raw meat recently. I try and tell myself that it's an animal rather than a tribute.

"You know what?" He says, his eyes glistening with what can only be described as insanity, "I'm not going to kill you right now, I want your boyfriend to see you die." He's completely contradicting himself, but we both know he was only trying to scare me before. I don't say anything and instead stare back at him with cold eyes.

"Scream for him." Spens hisses at me, but I keep my mouth clamped shut.

"Do it." He growls, getting angry. I don't say anything; I don't want to sabotage Cato. Then Spens remembers my weak point and he says his last phrase with a smile, making it all the more menacing.

"Scream out for Cato, or I'll kill her." And the fact that he points his knife directly at Rue without even looking tells me that this has been his plan all along.

Rue freezes and I know that I've got no choice. With tears in my eyes threatening to spill over, I scream.

"Cato! Ca-to!"


	15. Fire

**Author's Note: From now on I'm going to thank each reader for reviewing. Since I'm totally new for fanfiction and all, I don't know what the etiquette is, but I really like getting reviews so I want to thank everyone! Hopefully this note makes up for the previous 70 reviews that I didn't thank!**

**Here's the new chapter, I tried to upload quickly because I don't like being left on a cliff hanger for days and days. And also I am probably not going to be able update for a few days because of school. Enjoy this chapter and remember to review! :)  
**

**Chapter Fifteen - Fire**

Grey's POV

Once I give in to Spens and scream for Cato, exactly what I was meant to avoid doing, he laughs evilly and presses his knife harder against my neck. As if I'm going to be more likely to escape after I've just betrayed my friends.

"Guess what Grey; you're going to have a perfect view to see me kill your puny boyfriend." He spits in my face, glaring right into my eyes, "When he bursts through the trees over there I'll knock him down, and then I'll slowly kill him in front of you. You'll never rid yourself of his screams." He sneers and his nose crunches up in fury, and I have no doubt anymore, he's completely insane. Crazy, maniac, psycho Spens. I struggle in vain to try and free myself from him, but he has one hand pressed on my collar and the other is holding a knife roughly against my neck. My flailing limbs can't reach him and so do nothing to help the situation. I can feel blood slowly spilling from where he's putting pressure on his sharp knife.

I try and think of what Cato would tell me to do, to be strong and not let his words get to me, but I've failed that already because now Cato is going to show up at any second and be violently _mutilated_. If only things had been different, if Cato was in my place right now then Spens would already be dead. I'm just so _weak_, I can't help anybody.

I wonder if Spens had forgotten about Rue standing behind him. She had frozen to the spot when Spens had pointed his knife at her and hadn't moved since. I could see her contemplating whether she should run or try to help me. She was completely unarmed and probably didn't realise how heartless and sadistic Spens really was, if she tried to help me get away he could easily overpower and kill her in seconds. Within 5 minutes I was going to be the cause of two preventable deaths. Cato, Rue, and then I'd be next of course. At least if that happened, I'd be dead and wouldn't have to live with the guilt. I'm no career. The only thing I could hope for was that Rue stayed back until Cato got here, and maybe in all the commotion she'd be able to make a run for it.

Spens has gone silent, probably preparing to attack Cato as soon as he appears. I'm sure I can hear footfalls, but I don't trust my mind anymore because my heartbeat is thumping loudly in my ears. Suddenly I hear Cato far away calling out my name, and I can hear just a hint of anguish in his voice that I know he's trying to hide. But the fact that he's failing and that he's come back for me makes me feel slightly happy. At least I can die knowing that _someone came back for me_. But the thrill quickly fades and is replaced with fear again.

"Here he comes." Spens whispers seductively into my ear, and I have to restrain myself from spitting into his face.

Then everything starts moving as if it's in slow motion.

I feel Spens leap off me and I realise that Cato must be here. But when I look up I see a flash of brown hair and wide eyes, and I know that Marvel is the one about to be tackled. I try and call out a warning but I'm too late and I hear an, "oof!" as Spens throws Marvel to the ground, probably not even caring that he's got the wrong tribute. I suppose in the long run, it doesn't matter who he kills first. I roll into a standing position as Spens and Marvel struggle with each other on the ground, and I cringe when Spens manages to bring his booted foot onto Marvel's ankle, crushing it and causing him to scream in agony.

Then suddenly Cato bursts into the clearing, instantly taking in the situation and leaping onto Spens's back to help Marvel. As they roll on the ground in a mess of limbs, Cato's eyes find me and he shouts at me to, "RUN!" I stumble backwards, not wanting to lose sight of my allies or Spens. I nearly crash into Rue, and I grab onto her as we stagger away together, not wanting to leave everyone fighting. I can see Spens's knife lying close to the three of them, and as I turn to look I see Spens knock Cato and Marvel's heads together, temporarily stunning them. It's hard to follow who is overpowering who, but I know with the lapse in fighting Spens will grab his weapon. I can't imagine Cato coming unarmed, and looking for a second I see his sword strapped to his belt.

Cato draws his arm back and punches Spens in the face at the same time as I turn to Rue and tell her to run without me. She hesitates for a moment, which is just enough time for a blade to come flying and hit her in the chest.

I start screaming as I catch her when she falls, but I can't even hear myself. Why is everything suddenly so loud? Cato's sword unbalances from Rue's chest, dislodges itself and then clatters to the ground, and I whip my head around to stare at someone I thought I trusted. I thought I loved. Cato is staring at me, fear written on his face, the first time I've ever seen him afraid. Then I see Spens running at me, his arm still raised from throwing the sword. He must have grabbed it from Cato's own belt.

"Watch out!" I hear Marvel's voice screaming a warning just before Spens approaches, but he surprises me by rushing straight past. I only realise then that without even knowing it I have fallen onto my butt, and Spens's knife is standing up in the dirt barely a centimetre from me. I didn't even notice him throwing it.

Then I hear a soft voice calling my name and I am shoved back into the present where Rue is injured in my arms. I look down at her innocent face and try to ignore the crimson stain spreading across her arena shirt. In the back of my mind I know that she won't recover. I try to choke out something positive, but on death's door there's nothing I can say to her, and instead one of my tears drops onto her cheek.

"Don't cry Grey," Rue whispers, her breathing laboured, "I'm going to be okay, I'm not afraid anymore, as long as you promise me that you'll win." She sounds so much older and mature like this, the fact that she's comforting me even though I'm not the one bleeding.  
"I promise." I say, and I've never felt so sure of something in my entire life. And then just like that the life leaves her eyes. It's not some long drawn out moment, it happens so quickly. I never even got time to say goodbye. I look towards the sky and wail, and it's even louder than the cannon that follows.

Then I feel strong arms around me as Cato tries to lift me up off the ground but a mixture of grief, agony, and guilt makes me elbow him in the gut, causing him to drop me and exhale sharply. It's my fault Rue is dead. I called it, I called her death. She started to run because I told her to, and that's why she was in the way of Spens's attack. I turn around and Cato's blue eyes stare back at me. He's holding his hands up in surrender, but the fear has gone from his eyes and is replaced by pity. I feel demeaned and it makes me suddenly furious as tears for Rue flow freely down my face.

"Why didn't you save her Cato?" I'm screaming even though I'm the one feeling the blame, not him, "She died because of me!" Cato's eyes go serious and blank as he blocks out the obscenities that I begin to throw at him. He picks me up off the ground, positions me over his shoulder so that my waist folds over it and begins to carry me away from Rue's body. I scream at him to put me down, and I kick and punch at everything I can reach. My fists pound at his back as my upper body hangs upside down over his shoulder but it's like hitting rock. Only once does he growl at me when I kick him in a particularly delicate place, and from then on he uses one hand to restrain my legs. He carries me away as I continue to beat him with my hands, but he never drops me and after a few minutes spent screaming at Cato I eventually exhaust myself and hang limply over his shoulder. I catch a glimpse of Marvel limping behind us and I remember Spens stomping on his ankle, but he doesn't complain and even manages to give me a small sad smile when he sees me looking. Then I just close my eyes, it's easier than looking as the hovercraft comes to take my small friend away.

I keep my eyes squeezed shut while I listen to Cato quietly call out to Marvel.  
"Go back to the camp Marvel, tell Clove what happened. We'll join you in a minute." Marvel must nod, because I hear his footsteps fading away unevenly. I feel myself being placed on a fallen tree branch and Cato begins to talk as soon as I'm seated.

"I know you're awake, Grey. Just please hear me out. I'm so sorry that you couldn't save your friend, I truly am. But please don't blame yourself, because Spens is the only one at fault here. I promise that I will not let him win." I open my eyes slowly and Cato stares deeply at me. For once I can see right into his soul and I know that he's telling the truth. I feel tears welling up again and Cato notices and keeps talking.

"You know, back at the river, I ran from you because I thought that you were making me lose sight of what I came here to do. That I'd become weak if I showed that I_ cared for somebody_. But when I heard you scream my name, the thought that you could be hurt killed me inside. And I knew that I could never leave you." Then Cato wraps his arms around me and he presses his forehead against mine as the tears begin to stream down my face again. For the fact that no matter what, Cato and I will never have each other because one of us has to die. But mostly I cry for Rue.

Cato holds me in his arms and rubs little circles into my back for a while, until I start to wonder if Marvel and Clove are getting worried about us. But then the silence is broken by the sounds of footsteps and a whimper leaves my lips, hasn't Spens done enough. I feel Cato tense and place his hand on his hip, and there's the slow sound of him quietly unsheathing his sword. He must have picked it up when I elbowed him in the gut; it probably still has Rue's blood on it. That thought makes me erupt into sobs again and Cato tries to quieten me down by whispering in my ear and stroking my cheek. I bite the inside of my cheek and nearly make it bleed from nervousness until Clove bursts through the trees. She takes us in for a moment but doesn't look phased.

"Our supplies," She breathes, and it sounds like she's been running to find us, "They're on fire!" Cato is on his feet in an instant but I have a tight hold of him so I come up with him.

"What do you mean, how could you let this happen Clove!" He growls in reply, but Clove stands her ground.

"It has nothing to do with me, but I _did_ see it happen. One second our supplies are in a pile and the next it's covered in flames. I swear it was the Gamemakers, it's too planned." I turn to look at Cato, my eyes suddenly dry and tear-free, and I see his eyes narrow in anger. I'm scared he's going to lose his temper, but instead he just starts sprinting in the direction of the camp. Clove gives me a questioning look, wondering if I'm okay, but I try to smile and we follow Cato together.

By the time we arrive at our camp by the lake, Cato is standing watching our supplies burn to the ground, fists clenched in fury. Marvel is holding an empty canister of water, but his attempts to extinguish the flames must have failed. As soon as I see the fire, I know it's something the Capitol has concocted, it's too controlled. The flames don't touch anything except our camp. Around us are a few scavenged supplies, one sleeping bag, a backpack filled with some kind of supplies, one packet of food, and the container of Cato's medicine. Cato and Marvel must have gotten what they could before the fire caught on. I know that Cato will be furious that he couldn't save our camp.

Once the last of the fire burns out, Cato goes round the rubble and kicks our ruined supplies violently. I think about going to him, but I know that he needs to work out of his rage for a few minutes. Suddenly, we hear the voice of the announcer being blasted all across the arena.

'**Attention tributes, attention! Commencing at sunrise, there will be a feast tomorrow at the Cornucopia. Each of you is expected to attend. That will be all.'**

"It was their plan all along." Cato turns to face us as Marvel walks over to Clove and I. Nobody says anything, because it's probably true. Burn all our supplies so that we are forced to attend the feast with all the other tributes. It will be a second bloodbath.

"We just won't go!" Clove suggests, and Marvel nods in agreement. But Cato shakes his head.

"No, we have to go. Not for the food, but to take revenge on Spens. At sunrise tomorrow, he will die." And there's a fire in his eyes that no one argues with.


	16. Calm before the storm

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long, but I have been busy writing a French speech that I have to deliver next week which has taken a lot of my time. Also, I am working on a Glimmer one-shot which I will hopefully publish within the next week! **

**This chapter is short, I know, but what happens after this chapter is quite fast paced and I didn't want to cut anything in half and ruin the feeling of it. Enjoy chapter sixteen! Not long until the end of the games now!**

**Chapter sixteen – Calm before the storm**

Grey's POV

Cato throws a silent childish tantrum from the time of the announcement until sunset, kicking the charred remains of our camp around with one boot. At least he's smart enough to keep quiet so as not to draw attention to our vulnerable state. All we have is a meager amount of supplies that will barely last through one meal. It goes without saying that we're going to go hungry tonight and save our remaining food for a time when we absolutely need it, and whether or not the rest of us agree, no one dares go against Cato. Compared to the information I have heard about his "fiery temper," Cato seems particularly stable right now. Sometimes I see a fire burn in his eyes that Clove instinctively shies away from, but as Marvel and I hadn't met him until the games we probably have yet to see his full wrath. I make a mental note to stay away when he fights Spens.

Marvel and Clove sit opposite each other cleaning their spears and knives respectively, the two brought together by the need to respect their weapons. If Cato was in a better frame of mind, I have no doubt that he would join them. I can't say I find it very important, I feel just as bad killing with a blood stained knife than I do with a clean one.

I feel my stomach grumble a little once it's dark and I decide it's easier to just go to sleep. In the games once the sun goes down, unless you want to hunt then there is no real point to stay awake. With the feast just a few hours away, why hunt? I'm sure all the other tributes are resting so they will be prepared to fight back, trying to earn their life. How many are left again, 8?

I'm hoping that tomorrow at dawn the careers will kill Spens and then reap the rewards with a big crate of supplies. Maybe they will even have expensive Capitol food. I feel better just thinking about having a full stomach. Marvel pulls out the only sleeping bag that wasn't ruined in the fire and spreads it out so it fits 3 people lying albeit rather close together. He and Clove get settled by lying closer than they are comfortable with on the small piece of material. We didn't have any other choice, the wind was beginning to pick up and it whistled over our shivering bodies.

I padded over to Cato who was dejectedly kicking dirt around, still angry but winding down for the night.

"Go to bed Grey, you need your sleep." I open my mouth to protest but thoughts of the horrors that I had experienced today, being attacked by Spens, the death of Rue… stop me from saying anything. So instead I join the other two careers on the sleeping bag, lying next to Clove with my back against the wind. I lie quietly in the dark, partly afraid of being so out in the open but comforted by the fact that Cato is sitting nearby with his sword in arm's reach. I know that he won't let anything happen to me, but a mixture of the cold and the fear of nightmares plaguing me mean that I toss and turn for his entire guard shift. If Cato notices, he doesn't say anything, but after what must be 3 hours I hear him stretch and rise to wake Marvel. I hear some quiet whispering between them and then they both walk past me.

A few seconds later, Cato lowers himself down on the ground and settles with his chest pressed against my back. His arms slowly snake around me and I lean back against him, sighing as his body heat warms the both of us up.

"I knew it," He whispers slyly in my ear, "Why didn't you just admit you were cold and you needed me to warm you up? You're so stubborn." I smile.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Cato." I hear him laugh quietly at our bantering before tucking his head into my hair. It is much easier to fall asleep this time and there are no bad dreams.

I sleep right through Marvel's watch and by the time I wake up again it's nearing the end of Clove's. Perfect timing on my part because I'll be next to take watch, guarding until sunrise. Cato is breathing heavily into my hair, the tension in his body softened in sleep. I carefully slip out of his arms without waking him, and when he unconsciously senses I've gone he crosses his arms to stay warm.

Clove nods at me when I sit down beside her. She tosses the remainder of what is probably our last packet of dried fruit at me and I gratefully accept it, munching as she recounts what happened during her watch. Apart from a few rustling sounds in the bush, nothing had gone on. Since I'm awake, Clove could easily go back to the warmth between the two male careers but she decides to stay with me for a while instead.

"What do you think will happen tomorrow?" I ask in a whisper, wary of making too much noise that could wake up a tired Cato and Marvel. She shrugs in reply.

"I don't know. Cato's being cocky as always, but I try not to be so sure of everything, things can easily go wrong, right?" I nod and we become enveloped in silence for a while, until I decide to ask the question that everyone seems to be avoiding in some way or another.

"What happens if it ends up as you and Cato as the final two?"

Clove tenses up and I instantly know that I've hit a nerve. I wish I could take it back, but I can see that she's already trying to think up a reply.

"Cato can do this; he can win this whole game. Marvel, you, me, we all know it in the back of my mind, do you really think we have a chance of beating him when he's actually _against _us?" She's avoiding my question by not directly answering yes or no, but I don't push it. We both know without saying that Cato would kill us in order to win. But his own childhood friend, his training partner, Clove? It seemed particularly inhumane.

"Cato would be able to kill me, we've trained all our lives for this moment and we know that in the end it's the strongest who wins. But you, he actually cares about you. I've seen how he treats you, he goes back for you. And I know he won't go come back for me."

"Clove…" I whisper, "He cares about you too. As much as he tries to hide it behind his sarcastic comments, he's actually more human than he thinks." The dark haired tribute sighs and gets up, wishing me good night and "happy guarding." Before she settles down on the sleeping bag though, she gives me one last comment.

"Just hope it's not you facing him in the final moments. For both of your sakes."

I sit cross legged with a knife in my lap for the remainder of the night, thinking over what Clove said to me. The fact that she basically told me that Cato liked and cared about me has been dwarfed by the realisation that one of us is going to have to die, and it will probably be at the other's hand. If I came down to it, would I be selfish? Wanting to stay alive probably doesn't count as being selfish. Could I kill Cato, if he told me to? Doubt it.

I look over to Cato's sleeping form in the slowly rising dawn light and think about how I could be murdered by the person I thought I trusted. It's a horrible thought, but tributes probably pray that their partner is killed before the final two, just so they aren't the ones to kill them.

At the first crack of dawn, sunrise is skipped and it is instantly mid-morning as the sound of trumpets blast through the arena. Cato, Clove and Marvel are all up in an instant, looking around in shock as the sound continues. By the time the procession finishes, they have picked up their weapons and are ready to go. Clove nods solemnly as she hands me a knife, and then we're ready to go.

Cato leads our little troop the short distance from our makeshift camp to the cornucopia. We have no idea what we are going to come across, some years there is a large table full of food, other times there is nothing and it's purely a way to bring all the tributes together. Arriving at the cornucopia, I stay back a bit while the others begin to charge forward.

In the mouth of the structure there is a table with a lone loaf of bread. It seems a little disappointing, surely the Gamemakers would give us a feast after they set fire to our food? Obviously, the other tributes there have a similar view. A teenage male tribute that I don't recognize stands in front of the table, stamping his foot grumpily.

"A stupid loaf of bread? What is this! ARGH, I wanted Capitol food!" From a few steps in front of me I hear Cato snigger. Clove puts her hand to her hip where a knife is securely attached, ready to remove it and throw as soon as the tribute starts to move. I reach up and softly touch her arm, making her pause.

"Wait…" I whisper, "Something feels weird." The others turn to look at me curiously.

"What do you mean? It's just a Capitol joke, their version of a 'feast.'" Cato says, shrugging at me.

"No. Just… don't go for the bread, we need to kill Spens and then get away to regroup. We'll have to do some hunting." Cato looks like he wants to argue, he wants to win this here and now and take whatever reward he's given, even if it's just a loaf. But Marvel interrupts to say, "Fair enough" and that's that.

"So where is that sadistic bastard?" Cato growls after a few minutes of impatiently waiting. The tribute who was upset about the bread eventually grabs it and makes a run for the forest. Clove makes a move to nab him in the back, but Cato tells her to not waste her knives. He didn't even have a weapon with him, so he's obviously unprotected and stupid. The other two remaining tributes don't make an appearance, but fashionably late Spens slowly walks into the clearing. He always seems to come and go without a fuss, like he disappears into thin air.

"Aww, someone bet you to the food?" He purrs, and I step forward a little, my anger from his murder of Rue coming back again. I don't like his tone. Marvel who is standing beside me, folds his arms menacingly and it does a tiny bit in making me feel calmer. Cato brings out his sword instead and tilts his head slightly to the side, daring Spens to do something.

"Whatever. We have food, not like you." I think to myself that our food won't last more than a meal, but it seems like an inappropriate time to mention that. Spens smirks, like he knows that Cato's lying.

"Don't think over it too much Spens, there's no point knowing about our food when you're dead." Spens sneers and I silently congratulate my ally. Good one Cato.

Then, just like the minutes before Rue's death, time slows down as Cato and Marvel begin to run at Spens with their weapons in their hands. Welcome to the bloodbath.


	17. Welcome to the bloodbath

**Author's Note: I wrote this in 2 hours, but I wanted to give my last chapter a little time to settle in before continuing. I really hope that you don't think this chapter is boring or too detailed and long. This is the chapter that I thought of writing even at the very beginning. Please review and tell me what you think! (And read the extra author's note at the end of this chapter when you finish reading this chapter)**

**Chapter seventeen – Welcome to the bloodbath**

Grey's POV

Cato and Marvel begin to sprint towards our enemy, who removes a blade from his belt and holds it up menacingly, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Come get me, boys." Spens laughs, and I hear Cato growl in anger. Spens steps forward and meets him half way and the two begin to spar with their swords. Marvel stands back, wanting to fight just as much as Cato but with only his spear he knows he's vulnerable. Standing next to me watching the battle, Clove pulls out two knives which she holds in one hand, making herself deadly to the touch.

"Ready to play?" Clove asks me, turning to look at me before sprinting into the thick of the battle. I hesitate for a moment, watching as Cato pushes Spens progressively backwards with his knife work. His hand must be nearly completely healed because he is holding his weapon easily and fighting harder than he's ever done in the arena. The importance of the outcome of this battle is obvious to all of us.

I run to join the fight with Spens as soon as Clove leaps onto him trying to slit his throat. I have to admit that Spens is an amazing hand-to-hand combat fighter; he must have martial arts training because he is easily evading Marvel and Clove while continuing to spar with Cato. The black haired tribute pushes his arm out as Clove tries to plunge a knife into his shoulder, flinging the small tribute onto the ground. I take his temporary loss of concentration to attack his other side, unfortunately only managing to scrape his arm before being hit in the face with his reply. I feel a white hot pain in my face for a second before it is replaced by adrenaline.

Spens's tactic is to constantly move around, always changing his direction and strategy. Cato is calmly fighting back but is neither winning nor losing. I can feel the rage radiating off his body but luckily he's channelling it all into the battle.

Marvel is hopping around the edges, looking for an opening where he can stab with his spear. But Cato keeps moving into his path and Clove latches onto Spens's arm every few seconds making it difficult to get a clear shot. I stay back for a second, waiting for the District 1 tribute to make his move. Suddenly, his arm shoots out as he plunges his spear into Spens's body. It hits him supposedly deep in his thigh, but Spens pulls it out with a free hand and crumples it in his hand like a stick, laughing manically.

"Think that's going to stop me?" He grins, looking Marvel directly in the eye as he continues to block Cato's attacks. Cato uses it to his advantage and manages to slash Spens across the chest, but it's not deep enough to do any significant damage. He curses in anger, annoyed at being unable to kill him, especially when it's four against one.

Weapon-less, Marvel is defenceless against any attacks, and he calls for Clove to pass him a knife. She looks up at him and nods, and the next time Spens moves them in a rotation she passes one of her two knives to him. Unfortunately, Spens uses her temporary lapse in focus to attack. Spens swings his sword back and in doing so pulls it across Clove's neck. She chokes out a breath and holds her hands against the wound, blood dripping from between her fingers. Spens laughs and Cato roars in fury, slashing his sword harder than I've ever seen him do before. I step forward with my own knife as Clove slumps to her knees, out of harm's way for the moment, but Marvel grabs me by the jacket and yanks me back roughly. Cato's sword just misses me as he hacks off Spens's hand.

I begin to scream as a spray of blood splashes my clothing, and Marvel keeps pushing me away from the fighting, screaming, "Get away! Get away!" Cato is screaming too, but it sounds like a pained animal mixed with a battle cry. There's just so much sound, and I forget that my own screaming is adding to it. Spens's hand is on the ground less than 2 meters away. His real amputated hand. Oh my god. I curl in a ball while the sounds of fighting go on without me and Marvel stands over me. I want to throw up but I haven't eaten anything except a few pieces of dried fruit since yesterday and I have nothing to retch.

Less than a minute later, the sound of male fighting stops abruptly and I hear Cato scream, "You COWARD!" Then a few seconds later there's the sound of a weapon being dropped and I feel myself being roughly dragged to my feet. Cato is looking at me as he pulls me along, but his eyes are expressionless. I can't see Spens's hand. Marvel protests when I yelp in pain as Cato digs his fingernails into my arms, but he's a man on a mission. Suddenly, I'm on the ground in front of Clove and Cato and Marvel drop down on either side of me.

Clove is lying on the ground, shaking with shock. Her hands scrabble at her throat where a long cut is spurting too much blood, but Cato softly reaches out to touch her hands and when he does she instantly stops and moves them down to her sides.

"Clove?" Marvel leans forward so he is in her vision.

"Hey Marvel," She whispers, but when she sees Marvel's devastated expression she adds, "I always thought you were pretty awesome, you're the most thoughtful career I know. Don't let these games take that from you."

I sit forward on my knees when Marvel moves backwards to give us space, and I take her tiny hand in mine. It's comforting for the both of us.

"I've grown so much since I met you. When I first came to the Capitol, I thought I knew everything. I thought that careers were heartless and scary. But now I know I was so wrong and I'm proud to be a career. I'm proud to have known you." Clove smiles softly, her eyes half closed.

"You taught me how to throw knives. I'll never be as good as you, but I can proudly say that for a moment there I was a student of the best knife thrower there is. I wish I had gotten to know you more, because we would have been… we could have been-." I smile as a tear drops down my cheek, I don't need to explain. I squeeze her hand one last time and then let go.

"Not we could have been; we are. Remember that, Grey." I nod vigorously, and when I go to move backwards she whispers something.

"When I'm gone, someone needs to look after Cato. I hope it's going to be you."

Cato is next, and he's shaking violently as he grabs onto both of Clove's hands.

"You weren't meant to die Clove, why did you get so close?" He's shouting at her, shaking her frail body. I want to stop him from hurting her, but she's laughing at him softly and I realise that she isn't feeling pain anymore.

"I didn't want to die standing still Cato, I wanted to die fighting. At least I'm dying right here, with my friends. I didn't have any friends back home." She laughs again, but it turns into a cough and I see a fresh stream of blood drip out of her neck.

"No, I won't let you go! You aren't going to die!"

"Cato, listen to me." Clove whispers, staring him deep in the eyes. I notice that all her reserves have fallen down, there is no longer a hard career shell surrounding her, I can see through to her soul. I'm honoured to see her true personality. Her black hair is spread out from her head and it contrasts with her rapidly whitening face as the life leaves her. She doesn't have long.

"I need you to promise me something, Cato. I want you three to win this Capitol game that we're playing." Cato's expression falls, as if he's looking at a dying animal that's slowly going crazy before death.

"Only one person gets out of here alive." He whispers in reply, bringing his face closer to his partner's.

"Idiot, that's because you're letting the Capitol win. _You have to beat them._ Promise me that you will play their game and beat them." Cato nods.

"I promise you, I will win. And you know I never break my promises, right?" A memory of their past passes between them and they both smile together, sharing one last joke.

"I love you Clove, you're like a sister to me."

We all huddle together, holding onto the last remnants of Clove as she leaves us forever. This time it's nothing like Rue's death, Clove goes so slowly, like she is falling asleep. The cannon is the true reminder of her fate. After the sound of the cannon finishes echoing around the arena, Cato stands up calmly and walks a few meters away, then falls to his knees and screams, pulling at his hair in pure agony. I stare at the body of Clove and try not to be affected by the empty look in her eyes. I close them for her. Tears drip down my face but I hardly notice them anymore. Clove was a sister to me too, she was a sister to all of us and she shouldn't have died. Maybe this will show the Capitol citizens that this is wrong, but there's been 1718 innocent children killed before Clove and it couldn't persuade them, so maybe the Capitol really is full of unchangeable monsters.

If I was a Capitol citizen, I know I would have sponsored her. She emanated strength because she knew what she was fighting for. In the end, she didn't want fame or power, she wanted to beat the Capitol; she was the good against the evil. I don't know how I'm meant to grieve for someone like her, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. But I notice that her hair has become messy and tangled, I don't even remember it coming out of its braid. Silent and mournful, I gently use my fingers to comb through her dark hair and then I braid it into the best braid that I've ever done in my life. It has to be, she needs to keep her hair out of her eyes when she's training. I look around for her discarded knife and I see it stuck in the ground where she dropped it as she fell. I place it between her stiff fingers and for a second Clove looks like she could be just sleeping. I quietly choke out, "Goodbye Clove," and step back. Marvel catches my eye and smiles, and I know I have done something that will be shown in reruns for years to come and will also make the Gamekeeper very angry. No one ever shows emotion here and for a moment I'm proud.

Marvel wraps his arm around my shoulders and we watch Clove's district partner grieve. Cato moves slowly towards her body again and drops onto his knees. He begins to sob, huge cries that wrack his entire body. Seeing a supposedly murderous career tribute crying like this makes me want to rethink everything I thought was true. Soon, the wind begins to pick up, announcing the arrival of a hovercraft. It hangs over us and a claw comes down to retrieve the body. Cato fights it to get more time with his best friend, but the Capitol wins this battle. I look up towards the sky, holding onto Marvel tightly as she's taken away. The last thing I see of Clove is her dark braid swinging in the breeze, and her empty hand hanging limply from her body. It almost looks like she's pointing to us, holding her hand out to Cato. And then she's gone from sight and Cato turns to punch Marvel in the face.

Marvel steps back, holding his face in his hands. Cato is so emotionally hurt, there's nothing left in him to comfort. I go to touch him, but he recoils and picks up a knife, slashing at me to keep me back. He cuts my arm and I cry out and back away from him. It's not a deep cut, but I don't know whose side he is on anymore.

"Grey, we need to go. He's too dangerous. Grey!" Marvel shouts at me and I start moving towards him, away from a crazed Cato. When I get within reach of Marvel he grabs me, and we start running in the direction of the forest. Cato doesn't follow us, and the last thing I see of him is him throwing his blade at the cornucopia, and I hear it hit the structure with a clang. When he's out of sight I hear him scream in agony again, and it's such a horrible sound to hear that I cover my ears with my hands and run in silence.

**Continued Author's Note: I feel in the movie that the scene of Clove's death was really disappointing. Clove is one of my favourite characters, and I just want people to see her as I see her and feel sad during her death. I hope that this chapter made you think even a little bit differently about her. Remember to review! The next chapter won't be for a while, I tried to make this one quite a fast update so you would have two to read while I write the next chapter. We are getting very near the end of this story, and the next chapter might even be the last one! (I'm not sure yet, there's either one or two left) But I want to make the last chapter amazing so I will spend a lot of time on it.**


	18. Between the lines

**Author's Note: Here's chapter eighteen, what I predict will be the second to last chapter! I know this is really short, but again I don't want to have to cut up the next chapter and ruin the pace.**

**I'm sorry it has been a while since I updated, I planned on uploading this last night but I wanted to add the final conversation. ****I have a cold and a 3-day weekend right now, which equals an obsessive amount of time feeling like doing nothing except writing. I don't want to upload the final chapter of Wrong Crowd until I finish my Glimmer one-shot, but it's possible that I could finish and upload both within the next couple of days. Of course, if I get lots of reviews, I'll want to write faster! Anyhow, enjoy! **

**Chapter Eighteen**

Cato's POV

How is it that you can fail the two people you care about most in just one moment? I allowed my best friend to die right in front of me. I hurt Grey and drove her away. They'll never be able to forgive me now, because one is dead and the other probably hopes I'll die before she sees me again.

Ever since the beginning of the games, Spens has acted in a routine, killing somebody close to me and then vanishing. Never more and never less, he's smart enough to know the longer he stays, the more risk he's putting himself in. But very soon he will be forced to drop his strategy and fight me one on one. And I will come out victorious.

I didn't try to stop Grey escaping with Marvel after Clove's… _death._ Even in my state I knew that I was no longer able to look after her, maybe with Marvel she could have a chance at something.

I scream and cry in agony for a long time, blaming myself and wondering why I was such an idiot. Why I had even let them come with me to the feast. But the pain inside me won't leave, even when I hack up Spens's severed hand that had been kicked away and forgotten soon after it was lost until it is a bloody pulp.

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

All. My. Fault.

Eventually my body can't take the battering, both physically and mentally. I collapse on the ground and manage to drag myself into the protection of the cornucopia. Blood-splattered, bruised, and ruined, I fall into a daze, not sleeping and not awake, wondering where you get the energy to win when everyone you learned to care about has gone.

After what feels like an hour but in reality is probably only 20 minutes, I start to feel angry. I have no one to talk me down from my fury as previously in the arena Clove was the one to do that, so I wallow in my emotions as I begin to shake. I'm not even sure who I'm angry at, and the confusion makes me even more furious. I'm angry at the Capitol for creating this stupid game that has been my entire life, at Clove for dying and leaving me here alone, at Grey for running from me, at Spens for killing Clove and Glimmer, but mostly I'm angry at myself. The fact that I'm stuck in an arena at a time where I'm rethinking my entire life means that the world feels like it's closing in on me. I try to imagine what would make me calmer, but the only thing that comes to mind is killing someone and feeling their blood run through my fingers. _It's all I've ever known, after all._

Grey's POV

"Wait, what's that over there?" Marvel points at a mound in the distance and I mumble a noncommittal reply as we walk towards it. We are far enough away now from the cornucopia to no longer hear Cato's screams but I'm emotionally exhausted from it. I keep wondering how he is feeling and what he is doing. A couple of times I feel like bursting and telling Marvel that we have to go back, even though it has only been 10 minutes or so. He hasn't mentioned it and seems quite unfazed that we've simply left an ally behind, but I imagine that he's been trained for situations like these for a long time. It's no longer a thoughtless thing to do in his mind.

We get closer and I realise that the mound Marvel noticed is actually a tribute. A squeak escapes me as I picture all the people that it could be. Cato, Spens, the Capitol playing a cruel joke by moving Clove's body into my path? Marvel approaches the body and nudges it with his foot.

**BOOM**

I jump in fright and Marvel leaps back shouting something not suitable for the rest of Panem to hear.

"Did I...?" He asks me, eyes wide, and I try to look convincing as I shake my head. I must look terrible because Marvel looks at me pityingly and brings me into his arms. There are no tears this time; I'm all cried out, but for a second I can pretend that it's Cato who is holding me.

"Why does everyone have to die, Marvel?" I whisper into him. I don't expect him to reply, in the Hunger Games it's probably the stupidest question someone could ask, but he does anyway.

"Because they're freeing themselves from this crappy place."

I didn't really want to, but I ended up walking to see the body with Marvel to show my respect. It felt like the right thing to do. I was shocked to see that it was the boy tribute that had taken the bread from the feast; he was still holding half of it in his hands. There was no blood around him; he didn't even looked like he had been touched.

"You don't think that it was poisoned do you?" I ask, and then lowering my voice to a whisper, "I mean, is that even allowed?" Marvel smiles half-heartedly.

"We're playing their game, and in reality they could blow us all up right now if they wanted to." He pauses for a moment, as if he's expecting to be blown up for his comment. "But yes, I'd say the bread was poisoned."

Finding the body creates a damper on our already damp moods and we walk silently from then on. Maybe if we walk far enough we can just walk off the face of the earth. I drag my feet in the dirt with each step we get away from the cornucopia. Even though we thankfully don't meet any more tributes, life in the arena goes on and we hear two cannons go off within a few minutes of each other.

**BOOM**

**BOOM**

Neither of us jump, it's like death has become insignificant to us after seeing so much of it in such a short space of time.

"How many tributes does that leave?" Marvel says in a tired voice. I try to count all the cannons I've heard over the last few days, but when I think of Rue and Clove I get tearful and have to stop.

"Too many," I say, and Marvel nods in agreement. He thinks we've dropped the subject with that comment, but a few minutes later I say, "Four."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking. There are only four of us left now. Spens, Cato, you and me. Funny, I'm the last girl left." I don't add, _funny, I'll be the next to die_.

"Oh. Wow." He slows down to a stop. "Maybe we should stop here for the night then." We're talking between the lines now, because Marvel never says, _we should stop here so when we're forced into the final fight we will be rested,_ but we both know that it's the truth_. _

The two of us trudge around for a while searching for a secluded place where it could be safe to sleep. I kick myself for not grabbing a bag containing food and rope because that means we can't stay in a tree and we're most likely going to go hungry. I can't even remember the last thing I ate but I know it was a long time ago. I temporarily lose Marvel for a while and while he's gone I find a cave that is partially hidden by bushes. It seems too good to be true and it's probably something that the Gamemaker has come up with, but right now I want to sleep off my emotions and this seems like the perfect place to do it. It's a pretty serious thing to make assumptions about but I am nearly one hundred percent sure that in such a pivotal moment in the games, the Gamemaker wouldn't let something kill us in our sleep. That would be no fun to watch, would it? The Capitol wants to see us be pitted against each other. Ally against ally; friend against friend. I wait for Marvel to return, and he eventually comes back with a heaped handful of what I recognize to be blueberries.

"I looked for ages but this is all I could find. At least it's something. Oh! It looks like you've had more luck with finding shelter, this is great!" I nod numbly and follow him inside when he brushes greenery away from the entrance with his arm. I make sure to put it back in place to camouflage our hiding place.

We share out Marvel's berries between the two of us, and for a second I wonder whether he would give me poisonous berries on purpose so I didn't have to face Cato and Spens both trying to kill me tomorrow. I eat them and nothing happens, so I figure that he's not that malicious. Or kind if you think about it in the other way.

"Do you think that if things had happened differently, you would have poisoned me right now?" I blurt out, after making sure that I didn't actually die after eating the berries. Marvel stops, a berry midway to his mouth, and I realise that it's probably a strange question to be asking. I feel the need to elaborate.

"When I first saw you, I thought you would be a stereotypical career; bloody and ruthless. But it actually feels like you're looking out for me. Did you change, or were you always like this?" There's a pause while he deliberates, and when he speaks again he sounds much wiser that I gave him credit for.

"District 1 and 2 are very different to each other. Cato and Clove were taught from when they were toddlers that killing will make everyone you love proud of you. When your mother, father, teachers, all tell you something, it's hard to go against it. If Cato was to go home now, he probably wouldn't be welcomed; he's had opportunities to kill all of us, but his protectiveness over you prevented him from doing so. He hasn't become the evil victor that they expected of him." I open my mouth to reply but nothing comes out. I always pictured a victorious Cato going home to his district a hero, not a disappointment. Would my district even take me back if _I_ won?

"In District 1, the games are portrayed differently. It's a game, not a battle to the death. I was its biggest fan; posters, videos, the lot. There isn't as much emphasis on going in and killing people because it will bring pride to your district. So when I arrived at the Capitol and everyone began trying to control me, I realised that it was a lot different to what I had been taught, so it wasn't difficult for me to pick up my own morals along the way. That I would rather work with an alliance then back stab them in order to win. It's worse for Cato, he's finding out that the only thing he has ever known, that he's put his life and soul into, might be wrong. And he's trying to remember who he was before the Capitol took over."


	19. Insane

**Author's Note: Hello everybody! I'm still sick at home, so I've managed to get out my one-shot and the final chapter of Wrong Crowd in a few days! Please go and read 'Just A Strategic Game,' it's on my profile; you won't regret it! **

**I just want to say thank you to everybody who has read my story and reviewed, I'm stoked that I have gotten so much attention for my first ever fanfic! Enjoy the final chapter!**

**Chapter Nineteen – Insane**

Cato's POV

I was picked from a crop of 9 year olds and sent into training early. I had a look of hunger in my eyes that was inappropriate for someone my age and all the trainers knew that it was a sign. I was their protégé, the victor that would leave the district as a powerful, fearless tribute and return a blood-soaked killer.

As a child, the older children had been eager to talk to me, wondering why I was the special one. They weren't intimidated by me, knowing full well that I would be kept a secret until I was old enough to win without fail. I would not be picked instead of them for the next Hunger Games. My talent would not be wasted, so for the years that I trained as the only boy in my age group I was respected in a strange sort of way.

Not long after that, I was taken out of school and permanently entered into the academy. I never found out what my parents thought of it all, the only information I got was when I wasn't working hard enough.

"Your father would be disgusted. Do you want to bring shame to him?" They would say to me if I wasn't putting enough effort into training. "Do you want to make your mother cry when you get brutally murdered in the arena?" Over time, the memories of my parents gradually disappeared, becoming the images that my trainers manipulated my memories into. Until one day my most trusted trainer told me that they were ashamed of me and didn't want to see me unless I came back a victor, and I never heard about them again.

I cannot remember when I developed my temper, whether it was always there or if it was forced by my trainers. I just know that once they found out about it, they finally had a way to control me. I spent the next years of my life in a vicious cycle, being psychologically prepared for the games. It was no longer a matter of being strong and well-trained, I needed to be broken and remoulded into a monster. More often than not I would spend nights in cold white rooms, lying half naked on the floor, my face stinging from the backhand that I had received across the face from one of the Peacekeepers as punishment for not doing what was expected of me. Sometimes it wasn't for anything at all.

By then I was an emotionless Frankenstein, my eyes blank and showing no weakness to anyone. But I'll never know if it was their plan all along to drive me crazy, becoming the person I am now. I began to pick fights with past victors, hungry for power. I became very powerful, not only could I fight but I could manipulate everyone around me. I had to be sedated in training sessions on occasion; if a trainer told me that I needed work I would explode, threatening that I could kill them with my bare hands if they weren't careful. Then there would be a prick in my neck and I'd black out into the arms of a Peacekeeper, my limbs shaking uncontrollably as I came back around. No one dared laugh; they were all petrified of me. The older boys, the ones who had respected me as a 9 year old, were long gone by the time I was 17. Some had died in the arena; others had just vanished back into their old lives when they turned 18. I had no idea how they managed that, but to me they were cowards. Now, I wish that I could go back and be a normal person again, not some changed monster. I'm irreversibly insane.

The thought that had kept me going through all of this was that when I won I would be a victor; my name would be remembered with the likes of all the best and most renowned people in District 2. And I would be _happy_. That little space in my gut would be filled, the one that stayed empty no matter how many hours I trained or girls I took behind the training center.

But lying in the middle of the arena, my arms caked in the blood of my victims, I realised that I had made a big mistake. I had spent my entire life trying to find a form of violence that would make me feel complete, but in reality I had just been looking for someone who could make me normal again. Somebody like Grey, whom I had injured by my own hand; I was such an idiot.

Now what did I have? Parents who haven't seen me since I was 10 years old, friends who are frightened of me, and a girl that could maybe overlook my wrongs but who was destined to die today. Everything I had ever known was falling apart, and what was left when my monster personality was taken away? Everything I had was tainted by it. There was nothing left.

Even if I won I was destined to fail.

Grey's POV

I softly finger the long deep cut that Cato's sword gave to me and wince. My blood has dried around it making it look dirty and infected, but I don't bother trying to find water to clean it in. In a few hours I will either be dead or alive, and either way any wounds I have will be fixed up.

Marvel looks up in the morning light and frowns at me. It was hard for him to keep up his usual upbeat personality with the battle that only one person would survive looming in front of us. We had slept beside each other in the secluded safety of the cave, our hands clasped in each other's in a sign of friendship. Now in the morning light I could feel him try to move away from me, as if he was trying to distance himself.

"Marvel…" I say quietly, "You can go if you want. Give us all an equal chance of winning? No hard feelings." The brown haired tribute looks like he's going to instantly argue against my suggestion but he pauses, realising that maybe it's best for both of us if we split up now.

"But we're an alliance."

"You've done more than enough for me so far, I'll just end up dragging you down. Let Cato come and find me, I'm sure he'll take pity on me and make it quick." I can just imagine Cato holding me under him, his lips softly kissing me as he whispers 'I'm sorry' and slits my throat.

"Aw, I'm so sorry your little boyfriend won't be the one to kill you mercilessly, I'm afraid I'll have to do." A voice purrs from behind me and I know who it is before I even turn around. Marvel is facing the new comer and his face is frozen in shock. I barely have time to turn before a hand slaps my face hard and propels me backwards onto the ground. Spens looms over me and before I can get up he has his knees pressed against my shoulders and a knife held against my neck. I want to scream out for Marvel but even swallowing causes the blade to draw blood.

"You know," Spens muses, "I always hated you. I wanted you to die in the worst way possible while Cato watched you bleed out, completely unable to save you. But you keep getting away and I'm sick of it, it's easier to just kill you now. No more games."  
"But first," He interrupts himself in a whispering voice, as if he has two personalities, "I'm going to take revenge on what your boyfriend did to me. Look at what he did to me! This is what I'm going to do to you!" Spens holds up the arm that he had been hiding behind his back and I now see that it's the arm with the amputated hand. He hasn't bothered to wrap it, and the sight makes me gag.

I am ready to scream as his knife slits my throat, when something hits Spens and jars him into me. He swears and swings his head around to furiously glare at Marvel, who is still standing in a spear-throwing pose.

"Why won't you die?" Marvel stamps his foot against the ground in impatience and I don't blame him. While Spens is temporarily turned away from me, I can see that Marvel's spear hit him in the center of his back. I don't know how he's still breathing. I don't hear Spens smile but I can tell from his tone of voice that he's very pleased with himself.

"Marvel… Still so innocent. Ever heard of the fabulous Capitol concoctions? They have _everything_ there; things that would make your mind boggle. A few pin-pricks after training and now here I am; invincible. Ever wonder why I was never around, Grey?" If I didn't have a knife pressed against my neck I would have gasped. That's why he's supposedly so strong; someone was feeding him drugs that made him super strong. No wonder he was able to fight Cato so easily.

"Finnick?" I manage to choke out, bringing Spens's attention back to my face.

"No darling," He coos, making me want to throw up, "Finnick loved you _so _much. He didn't want anything to happen to you, so when I made my proposition he spat in my face. But it wasn't hard for me to find other people that would do it."

By now it's so quiet in the forest that you could hear a pin drop. With my impending death, I decide that the Gamemakers have put everything on mute; a bird whistling in the distance would _obviously _ruin my death scene. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I see Marvel tense up but I'm angled in the wrong direction to see where he is looking. I can only hear him say very quietly;

"We need to go… We need to run. Muttations are here." And the growls of dogs have never made me run so fast.

Cato's POV

The sound of a sponsor parachute approaching disrupts my depressed stupor and I stand up to catch it. For a second I remember laughing with Grey and the other careers when we thought our first parachute was the mines resetting, ready to kill us, and I have to violently tear the gift open to submerge the memory again. Inside the container is Clove's knife, the one which she was holding in her hand.

"This was _supposed_ to stay with Clove," I hiss angrily towards the forest, where I hope a camera will be turned towards me, "Not come back into this hell-hole." I rub my thumb along the handle gently, feeling the contours that my friend would have known from memory. It was only one of the knives that were in the training center, with a cold black metal handle that managed to look modern but ancient at the same time. I imagined Clove would have a whole wardrobe of precious knives back home but as it is prohibited to take any weapons into the arena with you, she had to make do.

I gently draw my finger across the blade, drawing blood. The tip of the knife becomes dyed with my crimson blood and I think back to all the people whose blood has run over me.

I nearly completely miss the note that was included with the knife. It's signed by Enobaria, my mentor. I can almost feel the hatred in her voice as she writes it, angry that I let my district partner die right in front of me.

_Cato,_

_Get on the cornucopia. If you want to win, you'll be smart enough to stay there. _

_Take the knife, and kill your _pretty _girlfriend._

_E_

I clench my fists when my mentor mentions Grey. How could she be so heartless? I wonder how she could expect me to suddenly turn around able to kill the girl that I care about. I want to scream into the camera that I won't do it, but they could instantly kill me if I did that. You didn't just go against the Capitol without severe consequences. I hadn't heard any cannons since the two tributes that I had brutally murdered myself, so that meant Marvel and Spens must also be alive as well. Why would Enobaria only mention killing Grey?

I decide to follow the instructions given to me and get on the cornucopia. It was frowned upon to try and communicate with tributes in the arena, so it must have been difficult for her to send a message to me at all. The outside walls of the structure are slippery and smooth and for a few seconds I struggle to get a foothold, but using my arm strength I manage to get to the top. I'm now a few meters off the ground and I can see further into the forest than I could from the ground. I strain my eyes to look for any movement where the other tributes might be and I swear I can see a patch of trees rustling. A flock of birds suddenly fly from that area and I hear a feminine scream and I know that I'm right.

"Grey!"

Grey's POV

_Run, run, run as fast as you can. Stop and you die._

I can hear the sounds of my harsh breathing and the heavy footfalls behind me as the three of us run. I can't tell if Spens is chasing us to kill us or if he is just trying to escape from the mutts. They're enormous things, big black dogs with teeth as thick as my wrists. I only got a glimpse of them as Marvel dragged me onto my feet and pushed me to start running.

My chest hurts from screaming so much and through the noise I can't even tell if both Marvel and Spens are still running behind me.

"Keep running Grey, get to the cornucopia!" Marvel shouts out, cutting off my scream. I'm too puffed to answer, and in my stressed out state I can't even remember where the cornucopia is. I pray that I'm running in the right direction, or else we'll all be dead in a matter of minutes. The mutts are running like they have infinite amounts of energy but I'm heading towards exhaustion. I trip a little but stop myself from falling and I know that soon I won't be able to run anymore.

"Grey!" It's Cato shouting out for me, and he sounds so close! It's coming from in front of me towards the right and I adjust the direction that I'm running in. I shout a reply back, telling him that I'm okay, that maybe everything will be okay.

"Ca-to!"

I hear a maniac laugh behind me from Spens and I fling my head back to look at him for a moment, scared he's going to stab me in the back. He dropped his knife back when we started running, but I'm afraid he'll trip me when I'm so close.

"I thought that I wouldn't be able to kill you in front of Cato, but it looks like I'm in luck!" He laughs again and jumps towards me mid-run. Marvel, who had been running alongside Spens so far, grabs him roughly by the arm and pulls him back.

I can still hear the sounds of the mutts barking, it's a horrible sound because the bark is like rasping sandpaper. I keep expecting them to catch up and rip me apart, but the Gamemakers must be controlling them so they don't come too close. It would be too easy to just kill the three of us and have Cato win, but they want to see us be forced to kill each other ourselves. Killing Spens wouldn't be too emotionally difficult, I admit, but I can't kill Marvel or Cato, especially when they have been helping me this entire time.

Suddenly the trees open up into a large clearing and I have a full view of the cornucopia. Cato is standing on the roof screaming at us but it's hard to tell what he's saying. It's a mixture between trying to ward off Spens but call me at the same time making it just sound like a hell of a lot of noise. The blonde tribute looks pretty terrible and even sprinting from here I can see the blood splattered over his clothing.

I call out to him again, telling him that I've heard him and I'm coming. I can't see Cato's expression because in the next second I'm somehow on the ground, struggling to breathe. Spens towers over me and behind him I can see the mutts bounding towards us. They'll be here in less than a minute; we're running out of time.

"Finally, I get to kill you like I've dreamed about!" He's screaming at me, absolutely insane. For a moment I feel sorry for him that the games have broken him so completely. He's irreversibly insane, but aren't we all? He wraps his hands around my neck and I try in vain to buck him off, kicking with my legs.

Then a mass with brown hair dives onto Spens and they roll off me, giving me time to get to my feet. The dogs are nearly upon us, but I don't want to leave Marvel scuffling with Spens. I hesitate for a few seconds, ignoring Cato's screams for me to join him on the cornucopia roof "right at this second!" And then suddenly Marvel is up, leaving Spens gasping for air on the ground.

"Run, Grey! You can win this, follow your heart! GO!" He's gripping my hands tightly as he pushes me towards the cornucopia and I'm smiling at him because he's going to come with us, he's going to survive this with Cato and me! But then he's letting me go, pushing me away as he turns away from me, pulled back towards Spens. I don't know if it was by choice or if Spens grabbed him, but I see Marvel's eyes for a moment and then all I can see are dogs.

"No, Marvel!" I scream out, frozen in place. There's screaming, and dogs, and blood. Lots of blood everywhere, why is there so much blood? Then strong arms are wrapped around me, pulling me upwards and I realise that I've backed up against the cornucopia and Cato is pulling me up. I try to struggle but he has his arms locked around me and I know he's not going to let me go. He's stroking my hair over and over, trying to pull my gaze away from what's happening below us.

**BOO-BOOM**

The two cannons go off simultaneously so it almost sounds like only one person has died. But I know the truth because like a switch has been flicked in their heads, the mutts run back into the forest and disappear, deleted from the arena. I can't draw my eyes away from the bloody tributes. I can see clumps of hair and a part of Marvel's shirt but apart from that I can barely tell Marvel and Spens apart through all the blood. I want to go down to see them, to say goodbye to Marvel. Marvel saved my life; I would already be dead if it wasn't for him. But Cato is holding me tightly and I can hear his breaths catch in his throat from the shock.

Suddenly I'm furious at the Capitol for sending those cannons too close together. It's like they are teasing me, saying Marvel and Spens are one and the same. Marvel will _never_ be Spens. And as there's no one else left in this godforsaken arena, I only have Cato to be mad at. I catch him off guard by kicking him hard in the shins, and he drops me, nearly sending me toppling off the side of the structure. I recover faster than he does and I leap at him, baring my teeth in a crazed way. I am weapon-less but livid and I feel as if I could tear him apart with my bare hands. Cato loses his balance and falls down on his back with me on top of him, ripping at his face with my Capitol manicured fingernails. Domitia my escort would be ashamed, seeing as I'm getting Cato's skin and blood under them.

I underestimate Cato, he may be tired but he's got years of training on him that I lack, and he turns us over within a few seconds so that I'm underneath him and at his wrath. His eyes are blazing like fire, but they are ice blue like always, and it's a scarier sight than Spens. _I've made him angry._ My anger and adrenaline trickles away until it is only fear left. He's holding a knife against my neck, and before it moves out of my sight I recognize it as Clove's. It's got blood on it already and it does nothing to help my shattered nerves.

Cato is expressionless and I know that in this state he could kill me without a second thought. But I pray that my last effort won't fall on empty ears.

"Cato please, I'm scared."

Cato's POV

'_Kill her Cato, kill her!'_ I can hear my trainers, my family, everyone screaming at me through their televisions to kill Grey. I can't tell if it's my mind or if the Capitol really is broadcasting into the arena but I wouldn't be surprised. They want to tip me off the edge, to get me crazy. They know my weakness is my temper and they are trying really hard to set it off as a last minute surprise for the Capitol.

Then the chanting starts, I recognize it as the oath that I was forced to repeat every day before training. It resounds in my bones like always, but it no longer means anything.

_I will bring pride to my district._ _I will do what my district expects of me._

But suddenly Clove's voice comes into my head loud and clear, and instead of joining the throng of voices she's battling it.

**I will bring pride to myself.** **I will do what _I_ know is right.**

Shaking my head to try and clear my thoughts, I look down at Grey. She's lying petrified under me, and Clove's knife pressed under her chin means that she's forced to tilt her head up. She's just witnessed the last of our alliance die and now the person she thought she could trust is about to kill her.

"_Cato please, I'm scared."_

Grey's POV

No one ever wins the Hunger Games except for the Capitol. We're all just pieces in their sadistic game. Even when you think that you've beaten them, you find out that instead you have just walked into their check mate. I thought that getting Marvel and I to the cornucopia would be the end, that the Gamemaker would take pity on us and decide that we all deserved to be winners and we would live happily ever after. It's not until now when Cato is holding a knife against me that I remember how well trained he is for this exact moment. This is his whole life, and he's not going to change. _Checkmate_, says the Capitol.

Victors never go back to their district and slip perfectly back into their lives again. They live in Victor's Village not because they are admired, but because they are feared. They come back changed, violent. That's if they're lucky. Some stay controlled forever, forced into prostitution by the president himself. Others fall into the abbess of alcohol or morphling because it's better than feeling the guilt. The Capitol always wins.

Cato's face doesn't change when I plead for him to let me go, and I squeeze my eyes shut and pray that he'll make my death quick and not what the Capitol wants. He surprises me when he starts talking.

"No, careers don't die scared. Glimmer, Marvel, _Clove, _think about them. They died fighting until the end, but it wasn't for revenge or evil purposes, they died to save other people; to save you. Careers have been portrayed for a long time as psychotic and twisted. I can't argue if you say that I was like one of those careers when I came here. And I don't expect you to believe that I've changed since then. But maybe you can understand. If you die proud, then it's like you're sticking it to the Capitol. Even if I was to die right here, at least I'd know that I'm dying because I chose to, not because District 2 decided I needed to." Cato chuckles to himself, as if he's surprised that he's even here telling me this. He could blow us both up just for that speech. I decide to stop him before he kills us.

"Marvel once told me that by dying in here, we're just being freed." He ponders this for a moment.

"He's right. And that's why I'm going to do this. It's because I… I love you. Funny, I didn't volunteer for the games thinking that I would be saying that to someone. I remember when we first saw each other, it was during preparation and I saw you look at me and-"

"Yeah," I smile, "I remember. You asked me to be in your alliance while we were getting our legs waxed." He laughs and I feel Clove's ever-present knife loosen against my neck.

"I'm just made of class." Cato smirks, but then his face falls again.

"I can't let you kill me knowing that I'm leaving you to a horrible future. I've seen victors return only to be dragged back to the Capitol kicking and screaming, destined for a life of prostitution. Somewhat like your mentor, Finnick is it?" I think back to how sometimes Finnick would go quiet and I realize that by being a victor, he actually lost.

"So…" I whisper, knowing that every camera will be turned towards us, our faces on every screen in the Capitol, "By killing me, you're saving me." He nods and then kisses me softly on the lips, the last feeling that I ever want to experience.

"So let's save each other." Cato grins and brings Clove's knife away from my neck, and quick as a flash he slits his throat and then wipes it on his shirt before slitting mine. I don't even have time to scream, I'm too frightened by the steady trickle of blood that is leaving Cato's neck as he kneels over me. I touch my hand to my neck and feel the sting, and I look at my fingers and see that they are stained red.

Cato leans back and sits down, looking a little bewildered. I want to scream at him, what has he done? He's killed us all; literally. I get on my knees and crawl towards him until I'm sitting in his lap, and we wait with our arms around each other.

Suddenly there's the sound of a microphone rapidly being turned on and tapped, and then a voice booms over the arena.

"Wait! Stop this instant! May I present you with the _victor_s of the 74th Annual Hunger Games; Cato of District 2 and Grey of District 4!"

I want to jump and scream; we did it, we won! But I'm tired from the blood loss and looking at Cato I know that he feels the same way. But he's beaming widely and I'm happy for him because even if he has changed, this is what he spent his life training for.

We grip each other's hands, our blood mixing together. My neck stings but Cato knew what he was doing, the Capitol may not know but I know that neither of us will die from our wounds. We're getting out. _Together._ Guess what Capitol? _We win._

_Fin  
_

**Continued Author's Note: Longest chapter ever! That was the end of Wrong Crowd! I hope that you have all enjoyed the ride, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. I feel like while writing this one story I have improved my writing so much, just looking back at the first chapters shows me that. **

**In terms of a sequel; at this point in time no, I won't be continuing. I don't have as much of an interest in Catching Fire and Mockingjay and I feel like I would disappoint everyone by writing half of a story but then leaving it unfinished. I think that's unfair to readers so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. I will definitely continue writing but I might focus on one-shots until I get another big idea. However, I may go through and rewrite parts of Wrong Crowd in order to make the earlier chapters up to scratch with the later chapters. As I said before, please go and read my one-shot 'Just A Strategic Game' which is on my profile now, I would really appreciate it. **

**I want to thank everyone for supporting me, all the readers and reviews. I can't thank you all individually here, but just know that you are much appreciated! I wrote this wanting my readers to come out with a different opinion of the careers than what was portrayed in the books/movie, and I hope I have succeeded. **


	20. Sequel Update

**Author's Note: No, this isn't a new chapter, but I have exciting news! I have begun writing a sequel to this story! It's called 'Crowd of Two' and you can find it through my profile. It's a whole lot more of Cato, Grey and a whole set of new characters! Don't you want to know what Cato's parents are like? What happens for the Quarter Quell? All these questions will be answered and more... Wow I sound like an advertisement.**

**'Crowd of Two' is probably going to be updated a little less regularly, as I'm about to head into mock exams and the real end of year exams are following soon after that so I'm going to be quite busy, but I will try as hard as I can to get chapters out. **

**I won't hold you back any longer, go read Chapter One of the sequel!**


End file.
